Jason Kubler does it his way

Jason Kubler has propelled himself into the world top 100 after a lengthy and tenacious battle.

Jason Kubler has won through to the final in Vancouver.

There was nothing special about the point that propelled Jason Kubler into the top 100 for the first time, certainly when compared to the obstacles he has overcome to achieve the feat.

Serving for a spot in the semi-final of the Vancouver Open against Frechman Gregoire Barrere, Kubler was able to draw a backhand error on the fourth shot to win 4-6 7-6 (6) 6-2, having saved a match point in the progress.

The immediate reaction of the Queenslander, who will play Englishman Dan Evans for his third Challenger Title this year after successes in Adelaide and Winnipeg, was muted but his achievement is one to celebrate.

The 25-year-old, who lost his father to cancer when he was eight, was once the top-ranked junior in the world, a talent whose feats in the junior Davis Cup were comparable to the legendary Rafael Nadal.

But the road between his Australian Open debut in 2010 and breaking into the world’s top 100, as he will today, has been both torturous and lonely at times and almost career-ending.

The right-hander battled chronic, debilitating knee soreness from the latter stages of his junior career and has undergone five surgeries on his left knee and one on his right. The Australian revealed back in 2012 that he had chosen to play exclusively on clay in a bid to carve some sort of career.

Just a year ago he had less than a dollar in the back and was coaching kids in Brisbane to survive, trying not to ponder what his career might have looked like if he had two good knees.

“I kept playing on clay for a while, but the knee was still sort of playing up and (last year) I was just coaching to make some money,” he told The Australian.

“Nothing was going my way. My knee wasn’t getting better. I didn’t know what to do. I was like, ‘Maybe this isn’t the way for me anymore’.”

A decision to give it one last shot, despite the advice of doctors and physiotherapists to avoid hard courts, proved a winner. Screw it, he thought. The knee pain will continue regardless. And it still does. But he needed some cash to pay off everyday living expenses and tennis remained the best way to do it.

An initial success came in a Challenger tournament in Traralgon last year. And he has learnt to manage the pain and also realised the world-beating talent he had as a junior is strong enough for him to compete against the best around the globe as a senior, even with a dodgy knee.

Regardless of how he fares against Evans, the former world No 41 who is on the comeback trail after serving a one-year suspension following a positive test to cocaine last April, the next step for Kubler is to translate his talent into regular success as he steps from the backblocks of the circuit into ATP Tour events and grand slams.

The dedication he has shown since returning earned him a wildcard into the Australian Open, where he took a set off then World No 11 Pablo Carreno Busta. He fought through qualifying to make his Wimbledon debut but was edged in a fourth set tie-breaker by Guido Pella.

Last month in Washington, he played his first ATP Tour event since a tournament in Dusseldorf in 2014. And next week, he will make his US Open debut.

“I’ve worked pretty hard over the last 12 months and it has paid off,” he said.

“I’m playing some of the best tennis of my career and looking forward to the challenge.”

Tennis Australia’s director of performance Wally Masur declared Kubler “is absolutely heading into the right direction and achieving the results he needs”.

“Jason’s injury struggles have been well documented and it takes an enormous amount of dedication and perseverance to overcome the setbacks he’s experienced,” Masur said.

Meanwhile, fellow Queenslander Maverick Banes became the latest Australian to break through on the Challenger circuit when successful in Gwangju, Korea yesterday. The 26-year-old will move to a career-high ranking just outside the top 200 as a result.

Ash Barty’s US Open preparations have been dealt a blow with the Brisbane resident forced to withdraw from the Connecticut Open with a viral illness, though she had played a significant amount of tennis recently in Canada and Cincinnati.