Kellerman qualifies for Australian Open
Adam Kellerman's passion and poise was on full show as he won the Australian National Wheelchair Tennis Championship last weekend to qualify for the Australian Open.
BACK from 12 months out of the game, Adam Kellerman’s passion and poise was on full show as he won the Australian National Wheelchair Tennis Championship last weekend to qualify for next year’s Australian Open.
Kellerman did not lose a set for the entire tournament in the lead up to facing his friend and teammate Ben Weekes and winning 6-4, 6-0 in the final to cap off the perfect championship.
“I breezed through the first two rounds and once I got to the final, I backed myself all the way through,” Kellerman told The AJN.
“It was always going to come down to me and Ben.
“We know each other’s game really well and have played both together and against each other for years.”
Kellerman did not have the ideal preparation leading into the tournament revealing he fell ill only a week before his first match.
“I only got to train once, so it wasn’t the best preparation, but I prepared my mind very well and came out with the win, so I was pretty ecstatic.”
Now, with less than two months to go until the start of the Australian Open, Kellerman says it’s time to work hard.
“I need to start training my butt off.
“I am going to aim to get as strong and as fit as possible because the level of competition in January will be a lot higher so I will need to do a bit more work.”
Kellerman says he has no expectations heading into the grand slam and just wants to enjoy the experience.
“Given I’m coming off a year of not playing too much, I don’t have any super high expectations.
“I just want to go in and prepare as best I can and play as best as I can.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from not playing too much tennis, it’s that coming back, I have found my passion again, found that I love the competition, that I love playing sport and I’ll see how well I can do on the day.
“That’s all I can ask for – to have fun playing and enjoy myself and do the best I can.”
The Australian Open Wheelchair Championships begin on Wednesday, January 24.
DANIEL SHANDLER
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