Tough tennis 'apprenticeship' awaits Canberran teen Charlie Camus with Junior Davis Cup debut, Europe stint ahead

The 15-year-old has travelled to New Delhi and is currently preparing in 35-degree heat with Hayden Jones and Hugh Winter for the group's debut representing Australia on April 11-16, vying for a place in the Junior Davis Cup finals later this year.

After the event, Camus will return to Canberra to train, then travel Australia and abroad to Europe, competing in both junior and pro events over several months.

It presents a massive step up for the junior as he dipped his toes in the water of professional life earlier this year, competing in ITF and ATP Challenger events in Canberra and Bendigo.

"I actually played pretty well. In the Canberra events I won a round in both matches where I got my second and third ATP point, so I'm now ranked above 1500th in the world," Camus said.

"But then these last few haven't been the greatest, so hopefully Junior Davis Cup can be the catalyst for a bit of a turnaround for me.

"Junior Davis Cup is going to be the first time I've ever played for Australia because the last few years with COVID there hasn't really been any international competitions like that."

Despite being new to wearing the green and gold, Camus was inspired watching the Davis Cup team defeat Hungary in their qualifier last month, as a hitting partner for the Aussies.

"That was an unreal week," Camus said of his experience as 'orange boy' for Thanasi Kokkinakis, Alex de Minaur, Alexei Popyrin, Luke Saville, John Peers and captain Lleyton Hewitt.

"I was super grateful for that. They were all unbelievable and they all took me under their wing. I got to hit with all of them which was really special.

"It showed me what playing for your country is like and how much it means to those guys. It's a privilege."

Camus said the players and Hewitt, a former orange boy himself, also gave the teenager "heaps of advice", and that tutelage will serve him well as he plots a rise up the junior ranks and then ATP ranks.

"The goal is to be a top-50 junior by the end of the year, playing all the junior grand slams next year, and then also playing a mix of futures as well. Then also by the end of the year, hopefully I can be in the ATP top-1000 in men's tennis," Camus said.

Junior Davis Cup coach Milo Bradley said Camus' strengths are being "tactically smarter and calm under pressure" but his upcoming international schedule including pro events will be the ultimate test for him, especially after the impact the pandemic has had on the tour.

"This is all part of the apprenticeship," Bradley said.

"Most professional athletes really don't mature until about 25-26 and he's still 15, so he's got another 10 years. This is all about getting out, getting pressure experiences, and getting the opportunity to actually take on those challenges.

"Last year was a pretty rough year for professionals and now it's a challenge for juniors too because they're going to have to get burnt. They come back drained as you start spending more weeks away from home, and you don't have your fresh home-cooked meals all the time, or your bed and you just get general loneliness too.

"They don't live the same lifestyle as a normal kid here in Canberra would."

Camus knows the journey to being a pro is not always glamorous, though he doesn't regret any of the work that goes into it, even if his classmates don't quite understand.

"They're a bit shocked when I actually do rock up the school once in a blue moon," he said. "It's different to them with all the sacrifices you have to make - you can't go out, go to parties and do all that sort of stuff.

"My goal is to be top-10 in the world one day playing on the ATP Tour, that's the main thing and then we'll see what happens from there."

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