REIGNING Mildura Grand Tennis International singles champion Dayne Kelly hit the practice courts on Monday as he prepares for his opening-round match against fellow Australian William Ma on Wednesday at the Mildura Lawn Tennis Club.
Kelly, the No.1 seed, is searching for an unprecedented fourth men’s title.
The big-serving left-hander is expecting last year’s runner-up Bryden Klein and No.2 seed Luke Saville to be his main hurdles.
“On paper they (Klein and Saville) are the main competition, but everyone in the draw, everyone is so professional, everyone is carrying a good level and anyone on their day is going to be tough to beat on grass,” Kelly said yesterday.
“Like I do every year, I will just take it one match at a time.
“Obviously winning the few times I have, has been special in itself, so hopefully I can get one more again this year – that would be a good achievement. Fingers crossed, we will see.”
Kelly, 29, who is ranked 340 in the world, said he always looked forward to returning to Sunraysia.
“It’s always great to be back in Mildura – a second home almost – I love coming back here, it feels a bit more like a holiday,” Kelly said.
Kelly’s record on grass is outstanding, winning more than 70 per cent of his matches.
He said his form over the past 12 months had been good and he was looking forward to playing on grass again.
“When I have been playing the last year and a bit I have generally been playing at a good level and really enjoying it, so that is the main thing,” said Kelly.
“I have really enjoyed jumping back on the grass. It is always fun and it is definitely a different style of tennis and a different flow throughout the match.
“Points are a little bit shorter, but coming back to the grass courts here they are some of the best in Australia, so it’s always a pleasure to play here.”
At the completion of the Mildura Grand Tennis International, Kelly will head to Geelong for another tournament.
But from there he is uncertain of where his next event will be as he waits to see what happens with the coronavirus.
“I want to go overseas, but unfortunately with the coronavirus at the moment it is quite tough to know what is going to happen over the next few weeks. We will just have to keep an eye on that,” Kelly said.
“I was meant to go to Japan, but they have locked that down so I’m not quite sure. It is quite stressful for all of us players – people in general. No one really knows what is going to happen, so hopefully we can get a handle on that and lock it down as soon as possible.”
