Peers fights back from set down to open victory

6th September 2008

RISING STAR: At 17 Sally Peers is one of Australia's brightest young players and currently ranked at 21.

TENNIS: SALLY Peers is recently back from Wimbledon and this week she has wowed spectators at the Acton Property Corporation Rockhampton Open.

The 17-year-old Victorian, who is a member of the Australian Institute of Sport, may have been knocked out of the singles in the junior section at Wimbledon but she bounced back to reach the doubles final with her playing partner Isabella Holland.

The pair lost in straight sets to another Australian pair, one of whom was Jessica Moore, who has been playing at the United States Open.

Another exciting development for Peers was to play for the Australian Junior Federation Cup team in Italy, winning all her matches on the way to the Australians collecting the trophy.

"I got back from Europe four weeks ago and have been training at the Institute of Sport," she said.

At the AIS in Canberra she has been working with coach Brent Larkham.

Now she is in Rockhampton and doing exceptionally well. On Tuesday, she eliminated top seed Michaela Johansson in three sets and then followed that up yesterday with a 6-3, 6-3 win against seventh seed Tyra Calderwood.

In the final she faced 22-year-old Lizann Du Plessis and after being blitzed 0-6 in the opening set went on to win the next two 7-6, 6-4.

In the men's draw top seed Nick Lindahl, ranked at 11 in Australia and 270 in the world, cruised to victory in the final as opponent Rubin Statham was forced to retire in the second set with Lindahl one set up.

Lindahl and Peers, who was the eighth seeded women's player in the Open, now look to carry their good form into the Rock International Pro Tennis event that begins today, also at Victoria Park.

Tennis Australia representative Mark Handley said the Rock International circuit was an important step in the development program for promising tennis players.

Men's and women's events will run in tandem with the qualifiers starting today and to be joined by the players from the main draw on Tuesday.

"The women's draw looks stronger with players having world rankings from 100 to 600," he said.

Despite pessimism about Australian players falling in the world rankings Handley was confident it was just a cycle and the work had been done to ensure Australia remains a force.

The Rock Pro International Tennis circuit and the work done at the AIS was all a part of that development.

"We hold both the junior Davis and Federation Cups, it's the first time we've held them at the same time," he said.

"We are on the right path."