Tasmanian tennis ace Harry Bourchier eager to pick up from a career best run when he returns to court
After slashing his ranking in half and climbing to the verge of the top 250, Tasmania Harry Bourchier’s run was put on hold because of the coronavirus. Now he’s returning to action in a new series.
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THE shutdown of tennis caused by COVID-19 halted Harry Bouchier’s charge up the rankings, but the Tasmanian star is confident he used the three month break to his advantage.
Bouchier had slashed his mark from No. 736 in the world midway through December 2018 to a career high No. 275 in March on the back of career best form which saw him breakthrough for three ITF titles by June.
He finished 2019 by defending his Victorian grass court championship title on New Year’s Eve, but like every sportsperson on the planet was forced to lock himself indoors in Melbourne due to the deadly virus.
Now as he prepares to return to the court in the UTR Pro Tennis Series, the 24-year-old is hoping to pick up from where he left off in March.
“Obviously I was pretty happy with my progress and it didn’t come at a great time from that point of view, but it has affected so many people so it would be rude to complain about it,” Bourchier said.
“I’m just trying to start off where I left off, having a few of wins and playing confident tennis, but that’s going to take a few matches.
“I definitely feel like the break was used to my advantage.
“These tournaments mean a lot for us players, not only the money but being able to compete again.
“That’s what I miss the most, just being out there and competing against another players trying to get over the line.”
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The UTR series was created by Tennis Australia to provide the country’s players with the opportunity to compete for $450,000 in prize money following the months-long suspension of the international tours.
Tournaments in Melbourne and Brisbane begin Monday, while Sydney kicked off today.
Bourchier knows while there will be plenty of rust the competition will be fierce, with his field containing the likes of Marc Polmans, Alex Bolt, Blake Mott and Luke Saville.
“There will be three events over six weeks in this UTR series, it will be interesting to see who does well and who doesn’t do so great this first tournament.
“Hopefully by the second and third one all of us are playing pretty good tennis and we will be quite competitive.
“Alex Bolt made second round of the Aussie Open, so even that in itself, good matches, good practice and a little bit of money to keep it all going.”
Young star Thanasi Kokkinakis, whose career has stalled with injuries and a bout of glandular fever earlier this year, could feature in the second or third Melbourne events.
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