Canberra's Charlie Camus has already ticked off one of his biggest goals for 2022 and has set his eyes on his next, a junior grand slam entry.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 15-year-old is inching closer to making his next big dream a reality, after winning his first-round hit out in the Canberra Pro Tour #1 on Tuesday.
Camus won his round one match against 23-year-old Blake Bayldon 6-3, 6-4 to send him through to the tournament's second round.
The event's youngest player gained a wildcard entry into the tournament, after reaching the semi-finals in the J3 International ITF Junior tournament last week.
"I played a really solid match, I served one of the best serving performances I've have had in a long time," he said of his win.
"I only had to save two break points and didn't get broken the whole match, and overall I just played a really solid match.
"In the men's, I've really got no pressure. I'm 15, youngest in the tournament ... so I've really got nothing to lose on the court. And if I just play my tennis then yeah, I get the job done like today."
MORE SPORT
Camus has started his 2022 campaign strong.
He aimed to make the Australian Open Junior Championships last month and made that a reality.
Next up it was a men's ITR event, and he has made that a reality twice following his debut at the Bendigo International in early January.
And the next thing on his list is to qualify for some junior grand slam events.
"It was a phenomenal experience. I'm really thankful to Tennis Australia for giving me that opportunity. And it just makes me better for next year when I go down and compete in it again," he said about the Australian Open.
"I'm just want to try and build my ATP ranking and ITF ranking. I'll see if I get high enough to play the junior grand slams this year, but I'm not sure yet if I'll get in or not."
The youngster has competed in 10 junior ITP events around the world since April last year, winning four of them, to take his world ranking to 236.
One thing that has helped improve the up and comer's game was sharing the court with 2022 Australian Open men's doubles champion Nick Kyrgios.
Last year the pair had a regular hit out in Canberra as they both tried to stay sharp in light of border closures.
Camus said Kyrgios' win last month was pretty special to watch.
"He's a grand slam champion now. He's the first ever grand slam champion from Canberra, so it's pretty big," he said.
"I haven't seen him yet. I shouted him a 'good job' message after the final but I haven't seen him, as I'm pretty sure he has been in Sydney celebrating ever since."
Whilst the young left-hander is focused on making his junior grand slam debut, he has his eyes set on the second round of the tournament at Lyneham.
As he has a big challenge in front of him, after drawing the tournament's number two seed Dane Sweeny.
Camus, however, was excited for the experience.
"He just made the third round of the Australian Open for men's doubles and he did well in qualifying, so ... absolutely nothing to lose," he said.
The tournament is running until February 13 and features a number of top players in the men's and women's draws, including Daria Gavrilova, Akira Santillan, Jaimee Fourlis, Li Tu and Priscilla Hon.
Fellow Canberran Annerly Poulos also gained a wildcard entry into the women's main draw but fell in straight sets to the tournament's number one seed Arina Rodionova in the opening round.
Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
