South Aussie Li Tu will play the Australian Open as a wildcard entry

South Australian Li Tu has earned a wildcard into the Australian Open to live out his tennis dream. But not everyone is happy about it.

Tennis Australia’s performance director Wally Masur had a “difficult” conversation with overlooked Australian Open wildcard contender Luke Saville after his left-field choice of Li Tu.

Unranked Tu was the beneficiary of this year’s unique COVID-19 circumstances, where the Open’s qualifying tournament was played overseas and weeks before the main draw started.

The Herald Sun is aware of some unrest among Australian players towards Tu’s wildcard, which guarantees him a $100,000 windfall.

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Li Tu, a former star junior, has won 26 of his 28 UTR tournament matches in his comeback.

That wildcard was meant for British champion Andy Murray until he contracted coronavirus in the week he was due to fly to Melbourne and withdrew.

The complication was that qualifying had already been contested, ruling out the leading Australians who would have been first cab off the rank to take Murray’s spot.

“Probably the thing that got Li Tu across the line was his commitment to playing singles,” Masur told the Herald Sun.

“In the month of December and January, he beat two players (Rinky Hijikata and Blake Mott) who received a wildcard into AO qualifying, then a player who received a wildcard into the main draw (Marc Polmans).

“The thing that’s important to note here is that wildcards are discretionary and, at the end of the day, you’re at the mercy of the selectors if you’re not in the draw off your ranking.”

Tu during his Australian Open prep. Picture: Mike Owen/Getty Images

Masur confirmed that Andrew Harris and Max Purcell – who both played in qualifying – were the two players who would’ve most likely received the wildcard if they weren’t ineligible.

The decision then came down to Tu, Saville or Dayne Kelly, with Masur, Lleyton Hewitt and Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley ultimately settling on Tu.Saville represented Australia in doubles at this week’s ATP Cup and reached last year’s Australian Open doubles final, but was previously ranked in the top 200 in singles.

Tu, 24, was a promising junior, but stepped away from the sport in mid-2014 after struggling with the demands of the professional tour.

He’s been co-running a coaching business.

Andy Murray tested positive for coronavirus in the week before he was due to depart for Australia.

Tu’s decision to play some UTR Pro Tour events last year culminated in a blistering run of form and now the rebirth of his professional career.

He told the Herald Sun last month he had matured and adopted a more positive, relaxed approach.

The difficulty post-Australian Open for Tu is there aren’t any ATP Challenger or Futures events to play in Australia, with border closures and quarantine requirements a stumbling block.

Masur said UTR Pro Series events would enable Australian players who don’t travel overseas to maintain an income until the COVID-19 situation eased.

He’s urged Tu, who lost a tight round one match to world No.108 Pedro Sousa at the Murray River Open, to view his AO opportunity as a career resumption rather than the “destination”.

Originally published as South Aussie Li Tu will play the Australian Open as a wildcard entry