Lower Great Southern Tennis Association’s Tea Zizek and Denby Sharpe earn State call-up for Melbourne Park

Lower Great Southern Tennis Association juniors Denby Sharpe and Tea Zizek will mix it with the best when they travel to Melbourne for the Super 10s National Camp early next year. The camp will run in conjunction with the Australian Open from January 25-29 and will feature 64 of Australia’s best players in the 10-year-old age category. The pair were selected for the event after strong performances in the WA Super 10s competition in Perth and will make up a travelling WA team of four girls and four boys. Each junior will play as part of a squad of four players and will be teamed with others from different States and Territories to their own. Players will play singles and doubles matches as a part of the event against other squads of four from New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and Northern Territory. The juniors will also be exposed to a variety of on-court and off-court activities including team games, clay-court tennis development and watching Australian Open matches. All Super 10s matches will be played at Melbourne Park. Local tennis coach and OnCourt Tennis owner Vincent Brochard said it was a momentous achievement for the burgeoning stars. “It’s great. I’m very happy because you don’t see it happen very often,” he said. “I started my business here three years ago and this is the first generation of kids that I’ve been coaching from scratch. I’m very happy for them.” Brochard said he believed the opportunity for Zizek and Sharpe to compete in competitions in Perth helped them reach new heights. “A year ago we made the decision to play in Perth because the tournaments in Perth and the tournaments here are two different worlds,” Brochard said. “We started last year to play in Perth and very quickly the results were very good, so we just kept going.” Lower Great Southern Tennis Association president Les Bairstow said Sharpe and Zizek’s selection was a credit to their dedication to the sport. “We are all very proud of Denby and Tea and wish them all the best for this event in Melbourne,” he said. “The key to success is training vigorously on the court and listening to your coach’s instruction and advice. “Denby and Tea are products of the programs conducted by coaching pro Vincent Brochard at OnCourt Tennis, one of our Albany-based LGSTA/Tennis Australia affiliated clubs. “Throughout the metropolitan area and the entire State, only eight juniors have been selected to represent WA, so it just goes to show what country kids can achieve with dedication, guidance, and hard work. “We congratulate both of them and coach Vincent on the great work they’ve all achieved so far, no doubt with more to come.”