Jason Kubler, 15, from Brisbane is the latest in a long line of Queenslanders to emerge. Following on from the likes of Patrick Rafter, Marc Kimmich, Robert Smeets and Bernard Tomic, Kubler has been quietly going about his business on the ITF Junior Circuit, and more recently, the ITF Men's Circuit. This comes after being the standout player of the 2007 European Young Stars Tour, in which he won a couple of the most prestigous tournaments in the 14&U age group, and led Australia to victory at the 2007 World Junior Tennis Competition. It was the first time Australia has ever claimed the title, our two previous best performances were 3rd in 1995 (with Lleyton Hewitt in the team) and 3rd in 2005.
In his past four tournaments on the ITF Junior Circuit, Jason has made two quarter finals. On the men's circuit, Jason has been winning one or two matches, in qualifying, for the recent QLD 15k's, and just this week he qualified for the main draw of the 15k in Gympie.
Let me tell you that I have seen him play and he is so so good for his age. Powerful, accurate groundstrokes, a strong serve and good movement. He, along with Bernard and Brydan Klein, is the future of Australian men's tennis
Horrible loss to Matt Reid. Tood Woodbridge and anyone else who pushed for his wildcard at the Aus Open will be feeling very worried at the moment at what might happen in two and a half weeks.
If that's the best he can do against a player ranked 533 in his home state tournament, I shudder to think how he'll go against a possible top 20 star at the Australian Open. TA's decision to give a wild card to someone who would be the heavy underdog in any 1st round qualifying match is shocking. Let's hope that Kubler's confidence isn't shattered by the time the Australian Open juniors come around.
If Kubler is unlucky enough to draw Nadal or Federer first round then he will be on centre court and probably on tv. Then tens of thousands of people will see him loose 18 straight games (most likely, especially if it is unforced error stingy Nadal). That is really not fair on the 16 year old.
I'm as hopeful as the next guy that this kid gets the opportunity to rise to his full potential. But tell me this...
Is it at all possible that he may be able to gain vital experience in the AO main draw, which could assist in controling nerves when it comes to the more likely Jr Open final matches?
The way I see it, Jrs don't have a lot of opportunity to play in front of larger crowds, so nerves have to be a huge factor in the Grand Slam arena. When I was 16, I was 10 foot tall & bullet proof & would have taken on the big guns quite happily just for the unbelievable experience of it - but still been pragmatic about my chances of winning.
Kubler is certainly no hot house flower in the mental stakes. Perhaps this MD experience just might be positive.
Maybe you're right. I've just know that other players in the past have been granted wild cards too early and it hasn't really helped them. Although Kubler does seem like a well grounded and mature person for his age. The embarrassment factor is just one of the reasons why people are annoyed that Kubler got a wild card, the other is that there were plenty of other hard working Aussies that were more deserving this year.
Hey StatRacket totally agree. Nobody i am sure wants to undermine the kid but there is bound to be a lot of resentment from players etc who rightly feel that hedoesn't deserve it yet. If things go as TA plan for him then when he des4rves it he should geet it. Lindahl had to prove that he deserves it, Tomic maybe should havebeen even made to prove it as hisrecent results haven't been greatn but wheren isn the wisdom in just handingn it over to a kid that has NEVER won a seniors match? Has anyone ever heard of this being done in a Grand Slam before? I think whoever is responsible for Jason K might best serve his interests by passing on the wildcard.
Deserve/ doesn't deserve. It's the age-old argument about wildcards in tournaments the world over. The nature of the beast is that there'll always be someone who feels hard done by. Surely players understand that this is out of their hands and wouldn't be so petty as to blame a kid for a choice made by TA?
Sure he hasn't won a seniors match yet, and may not get past the first round, but can anyone give me a name of anyone who missed out who would have been honestly likely to make it to the second round?
And isn't Kubler the discretionary wildcard reserved for the Asia/Pac Jr?
Hey Quiet Confidence whilst I appreciate your support for Kubler one also has to consider the lot of the other players out there. I do not feel that it is appropriate to "gain vital experience in the AO Main Draw to assist in controilling his nerves for a AO Junior final"". This is a Australian Open MAIN draw - something players w9rk their heaarts out for years. It is naive to think that there is not going to be resentment. Every Aussie player will be out to show TA and Woodbridge what a contentious decision this was.
And as for the AO Final - I hope he does get that far but aren't we once again assuming too far - whqt happerne4d to the old öne match at a time""! Now everyone expects him to win Junior title because he received Main Draw.
Yes and as far as any one making it past second round , wel wouldnt you like Ebdens cahnces after winning a round at brisbane yet until then and after doing so well at the furtues,
yeah like winning them he didnt get a look in before Tomic who lost to a qualifier and Kubler who hasnt won a round of futures.
Not to mention if they want to settles his nerves for juniors wouldnt it better to let him play three qualifying rounds then play his first round in the mens from there ?
Tomic would be a better player if he players three rounds of qually to at the age of 16 , in fact even though he won first round last year, i dont think he would have got through three rounds to make it in the first place, so why do higher ranked players or more proven have to go through that all the time.
It was a joke that Lindahl won the play off yet tomic got main draw Brisbane and Lindahl had to qually, but lindahl will be the better player for it and have more matches under his belt,
All TA are thinking about is fast tracking their players as said in that article some one posted but by handing them w/cs for points aint going to make any of these young ones better players, as they will have to play outside of Australia like these other guys have had to around the world one day where TA dont have all the control.
If this is the way TA want to bring on their juniors then good luck to them i say.
I think kubler is a great junior player I just hope he falls into the hands of some one with common sense .
Giving tomic all these W/cs over the past year didnt get him any further this year did it ?
I agree Tomic should have played qualifiying at the Australian Open last year but i think the win over Starace got him some confindence but when he got a wildcard into Roland Garros main draw that was a mistake because he was never going to beat Kohlschreiber, then when he played a couple of challenger events in America he didn't get any good results.
But Dolgopolov is a great player he proved it in the second round of the Brisbane International against Stepanek.
Alright now to Kubler he is by far our best junior accept for Tomic but he isnt the number 4 in the world of juniors if you look at the list of players behind him they are just as good but some of them have got good results in junoir grand slams. But hopefully he still plays the Aus Open juniors because he is capable of maybe winning it getting to the quarters or semis
Yes, Tomic was never going to beat Kohlschreiber, but TA didn't know that he was going to draw him. That said, I don't think Tomic would have beaten a single player in the Roland Garros main draw last year. A lot of the reason he beat Starace is because he had home court advantage and a favourable court surface, neither of these advantages were with him at Roland Garros.
Playing qualies is quite often more beneficial than the main draw and TA should appreciate this. For example, Tomic got two qualifying wins last year at Wimbledon meaning valuable experience and 14 ranking points. Had he just been wild carded into the main draw he probably would have lost off the bat hence the qualies were much better for him in the instance. The same applies for Kubler this year at the Australian Open.
You're right about Kubler's junior ranking. As much as I hate to say it, Kubler's junior ranking is a bit inflated. His wins in Australiasia may have been in high profile events (A, B1 etc), but not against high profile players. He rarely had to beat someone ranked in the top 20 and is yet to even win a match in a junior Grand Slam. The Australian Open boys' championship should be a good to see where he is really at.
True they were very good wins but you cant compare them to Tomic when he was sixteen. Kubler, Saville, Duckworth, Chaplin, Swaysland and Bolt i think will be the big Australian names this year in both juniors and mens but Alex Bolt needs to play more tennis next year and really do well at the AUS OPEN juniors, Saville is only 15 but he will get a wildcard into 2011 AUS OPEN and he'll have a great year in juniors and the mens he'll crack the top 1000, Duckworth is probably the second best Aussie under 18 first being Tomic, Duckworth will get a great results AUS OPEN juniors maybe could make the final or semis and he showed his skill at the wildcard play off. Swaysland maybe will get some great results his capable of doing it but its just a matter of believing in yourself thats wat he needs to do. Chaplin needs to play in future tournaments next year to get some confidence up and just more matches into him against some other young Aussies.
Jason Kubler will do better at the Mens AUS OPEN then he did at Brisbane against Matt Reid, this guy obviously knows how to play and i think when his got a crowd behind him and playing at the big stage will do him well, alot of people on this thread have said TA made a mistake picking him for a wildcard but his our top ranked junior so you have to give him credit for that but if they had just didnt give him a wildcard into the maindraw then he would of still been in the qualifiying but everyone knows that he wouldnt have made it through three matches its just like Tomic last year if he was in the qualifiying then he wouldnt have made it to the main draw regardless of the draw that he was given. So that pretty much says that Saville will get a wildcard next year unless Kubler can get to top 750 or 500 in the mens or better. But when you look at his results in the three future tournaments his played the two good players in Smeets and Propoggia he got a set off both of them but against Kris Bala...... he lost 6-2 6-3 so by that im guessing that he'll do better at the big stage and for me the last wildcard will now go to Ebden
The Qualifiying wildcards will go to Sirianni, Junaid, Smeets, Lemke, Hensel, Ebelthite, M.Reid, Saville and Duckworth
Yeah you can't compare him to Tomic. As for Duckworth being the second best junior, I think Kubler and Mitchell are ahead of him and Duckworth simply benefited from having the luck and form going his way for the Wildcard Playoff.
Oh sorry forgot all about Mitchell but do you know if Duckworth is playing in Sydney or is he playing in the Aussie junior tournament and who are Kubler and Mitchell ahead of and have you ever heard of Alex Bolt he was in the u 16s australian tournament when the wildcard play off was on
Jason has got to play Rajeev Ram in the first round of qualifying of sydney he wont win but could put up a fight hopefully he plays well then he might notch up a win then thats not bad preperation for the AUS OPEN i thought he was playing juniors this week
Am i the only one who thinks it is strange that Kubler has received another wildcard (usually reserved for hometown boys or boys who have had great results ie ebden matosevik jones) - didnt he get his opportunity in Brisbane Int - his state? What the hell is going on? It looks like TA is just set up for Tomic and Kubler. Well done to the others - your results have justified it.
James Duckworth definitley deserved one but your right why did Kubler get one. He was always going to get one into Brisbane Qualies cause home town but where is Samuel Groth his wife is in the womens qualies and where is carsten ball is he just resting for the AUS OPEN and i know that Smeets isnt from NSW but he should of got a wildcard instead of Jones or Kubler and what is Matt Reid's hometown and i think that Kubler isnt as good as Saville
Groth might still be injured. Not sure about Smeets and Reid is from NSW - he crushed Kubler last week 6063! So why would they pick Kubler? Tennis selections have over the years been controversial but this just smacks of favouritism yet again. Why don;t they make these players earn their position like others have to.
I by no means agree with TA's decision to give him a WC into the main draw of the Australian Open, however they are doing the correct thing by giving him qualifying WCs into these events (Brisbane, Sydney) - it is good preparation for the higher level. He obviously isn't ready for grand slams, but TA can't back down their decision now - atleast they are showing they have confidence in him.
Perhaps Audacity - perhaps they should have given more thought to their in initial decision - is great they are showing confidence in nhim but what about the players that have missed out on a wildcard opportunity this year who might have benefitted? And the joke is that next year those same players will probably be deemed to old.
To me it is has been an immense stuff up just because they want to fast track young players. This obsession they have with early maturers is so short sighted and only Aust Tennis will suffer. Woodbridge/Tiley have a lot to answer for if this kid crashs and burns.
Kubler has a really nice draw against a guy who is playing nowhere near his current ranking. Ram is coming off a 61 61 loss to De Bakker and was defeated by Hensel in his last match of 2009 who Kubler defeated in the Wildcard Playoff. Ram was losing to guys such as Garza, Bopanna, Ito and Martin on hardcourt. The only thing he did near the end of the year was win the Aachen Challenger.
He lost the first set 6-4 but is up 2-1 40-40 Ram serving i thought Ram was a heeps good player and i knew he lost to Hensel in an ameican challenger tournament at the end of the year but Ram won at Newport last year after wimbledon against Querrey in the final he beat Groth in the second round of that tournament but that was on grass so totally different now its 2-2 0-30 down kubler has been down in basically all of his service games but come back well if he loses this set then i hope it goes to a tie break.Now 40-30 up playing better and what if Kubler got drawn out to someone like Lorenzi, Odesnik, Ram or one of the rochus brothers he could play well against one of them.
And when does the final wildcard get announced for sydney and AUS OPEN?
He is up 4-2 40-0 second set he has this set pretty much in the bag now 5-2 up he has got 77% of first serve i this second set doing very well, next set he has got to just stay calm and get alot of first serve's in then he will probably will be in with a chance good luck to him.
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