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Junior stars embracing pressure at December Showdown | 6 December, 2022 | All News | News and Features | News and Events

Junior stars embracing pressure at December Showdown | 6 December, 2022 | All News | News and Features | News and Events

As the December Showdown presented by Kia continues, the top-seeded juniors are proving the players to beat.

Melbourne, Australia, 6 December 2022 | Darren Parkin

Melbourne Park’s bumper fortnight of tennis action continued today at the December Showdown, with round-robin matches in the 18/u and 14/u national championships.

Over 550 matches will be played over the course of a fortnight, spanning across four age groups with the 12/u and 16/u to carry the mantle next week.

The action is giving future junior stars a taste of what it takes to make it on tour, as well as the bright lights and energy that tournament play can bring.

Queenslander Alec Braund is the No.1 seed in the 18/u boys’ singles competition and today battled through a tight three-set match against South Australia’s Hugh Winter.

“It’s an honour to be the number one seed obviously, I’m slowly getting used to it,” Braund said.

“It feels like a bit more attention is on me, that’s for sure.”

Braund spoke about what he’s learning from the Melbourne Park courts and the depth of talent at the event.

“The balls and the bounce aren’t what I’m used to, but I got there in the end,” he said. “I needed to focus and get the groove on. One little point can change the whole thing.”

Winter is the younger brother of Edward, one of the finalists in the Male Junior Athlete of the Year category at the 2022 Australian Tennis Awards.

“I’ve played Hugh before and he’s obviously improved a lot,” Braund said after recording a 5-7 7-5 6-3 victory.

“He’s going to be like Eddie and they will be a great duo in the years to come.”

Another prominent surname at the December Showdown belongs to No.4 seed, Thomas Gadecki. He is the younger brother of Olivia Gadecki, an Australian Billie Jean King Cup representative.

Gadecki prevailed in three sets today over South Australia’s Brendan Loh 6-2 3-6 6-2.

The Queenslander spoke about the positive attitude he is bringing to this event, despite the pressure that comes with his seeding and his name.

“Even though I’m seeded, I’ve got nothing to lose,” Gadecki reasoned.

“I’m 16, so I’m just enjoying it. This is such an exciting way to start the summer and I can’t wait to keep going.”

It was a relatively comfortable day for many of the seeds in the draw, with Pavle Marinkov, Jeremy Zhang, Lachlan Vickery and Jiayang Dong all winning in straight sets.

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