Grass is greener for Kubler as Wimbledon beckons

Jason Kubler at 30, is only just adjusting to life on the ATP Tour, having seen his world ranking climb into the top 40 in the past two years.

Jason Kubler readies for ‘the specialness of Wimbledon’ Picture: Getty Images.

He’s a player with an old head and young legs.

Jason Kubler at 30, is only just adjusting to life on the ATP Tour, having seen his world ranking climb into the top 40 in the past two years.

For years Kubler struggled to get his ranking above 1000. Each time he was floored by his dodgy knees, and six surgeries later, he was found in Brisbane coaching youngsters — earning just enough money to buy the specials in the supermarket food aisle.

To have $30 in the bank was a luxury, and at one point, he had just 19 cents, but Kubler refused to give up on his childhood dream.

To keep him going, he only had to reflect on the expectations on him as a junior when he was bracketed alongside Rafael Nadal as the next big thing.

“If you get into the top 80 then it’s almost like a completely different sport. You end up making money that was nowhere, nowhere near, what you’re surviving on in the lower level,’’ he told The Weekend Australian.

Kubler came to within weeks of making coaching his career choice, before having a breakthrough series of small wins in 2018 – he scored a wildcard from the Australian Open, he qualified for Wimbledon and then won the opening round of the US Open.

Now as Wimbledon approaches on Monday, the resilient Brisbane player is one of Australia’s top grass court prospects for the next two weeks.

While the headlines will zero in on last year’s finalist Nick Kyrgios’s fluctuating mental and physical battles, and the struggle of the Australian women now that Ajla Tomaljanovic has withdrawn with knee troubles, Kubler has joined Alex de Minaur as the form Australian male players.

De Minaur made the final of the prestigious Queen’s Club, losing to world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz while Kubler played at the Surbiton Open, only to be beaten by the eventual winner, local hero Andy Murray, but he immediately bounced back to win the Ilkey Trophy, defeating Sebastian Ofner in the final.

“I have no injuries, which is good,’’ Kubler told The Weekend Australian. “It’s been a bit different this year because I’ve actually managed to have some matches on grass before Wimbledon.’’

Rainy, humid weather in Britain has produced slow grass surfaces to help with the adaptation. So too has the fact this is the first year he hasn’t had to win through the qualifying tournament to make the first round at SW19.

Daria Saville is the only Australian woman confirmed in the main draw, with others having to progress through the qualifying matches, but Kubler said a lot of Australian players are “actually very raw” for this year’s event. He anticipated that if the draw opens up, “a lot of us have the ability to get through to a third or fourth round’’.

Last year’s Wimbledon experience was heartwarming.

Kubler had won through the qualifying and then kept winning, making the fourth round in the second week of Wimbledon, each match swelling his bank account to unprecedented levels. While the championships didn’t mean any uplift in rankings points – a result of the ATP punishing Wimbledon for its anti-Russian stance – Kubler could barely believe his $350,000 pay check.

He then teamed with 21-year-old Rinky Hijikata of Sydney as a wildcard doubles entry for the Australian Open earlier this year, with the pair going on to surprise everyone securing the grand slam victory. Now he is ranked 74, but of course, would have been in the top 50 if his Wimbledon result had counted.

And while he is now one of the older members of the Australian contingent, he feels much younger because of the years on the sidelines rehabilitating his knees.

“I feel a lot younger than 30,’’ he said. “I’m going on to these bigger tours for the first time but I still feel like a young kid sort of thing. Coming in and experiencing this for the first time where, you know, I’ll talk to other players who maybe have been on the tennis tour for, you know, the last six, seven or eight years and they’re actually a little bit tired of the grind.

“So I think in that way, maybe the injuries that kept me out helped me a little bit. Right now I’m pretty happy with mentally and physically where I’m at.”

He won’t be drawn on predictions, especially before seeing the draw and seedings, but anticipated the “specialness of Wimbledon” would make it a great experience.

“Especially after the sort of special run I had last year. I’m looking forward to it and then any match where I can win, it’s going to be a special moment,’’ he said.