Australian Tennis Team Courting Medals
What a day for Team Australia’s tennis team!
The smile was not leaving Noah Ehrlich’s face after he got the day off to a great start.
12-year-old Noah beat his 16-year-old opponent 6-4 6-1 to earn himself a spot in tomorrow’s quarter-finals.
“I think that’s the best I’ve ever played!” Noah beamed after the match, where he outsmarted his bigger, older opponent around the court during their match in the Pan America Games in Sao Paolo.
David Sofaer
Later in the day, we got to see our first glimpse of David Sofaer in action, and wasn’t it a pleasure to watch. In a high quality match against his American opponent, David prevailed 6-1 6-3.
David, the No.2 seed in the tournament, had a bye, followed by a walkover in his first two rounds. Although that left him “anxious” to finally get on court, he showed tremendous touch, variety and composure to outplay his big-serving, heavy-hitting opponent.
“Good, tough win against one of the better players in the draw,” David said afterwards.
“It was an enjoyable game, now onto the semi-finals!”
Paul Ehrlich then flew the Aussie flag to grab his first win of the masters tournament against a wily old opponent. The masters singles is a round robin event, and Paul has done enough to progress to the next phase.
Noah and his Brazilian doubles partner went down in their doubles action to a feisty Venezuelan opponent.
But the day ended with Paul partnering up with his wife Lauren. It was the first time that they have teamed up on court – and Lauren celebrated her return to competition tennis with a thrilling win sealed in a third-set tiebreak.
Although admittedly a little rusty in the mixed doubles event, Lauren was thrilled with the day’s results.
“When you consider we’re playing at a different altitude, on clay courts, which we don’t have in NSW, it’s a wonderful effort so far,” Lauren enthused.
As for her new ‘partner’, Lauren was glad they got through with a win …
“We practiced things before we left and then we got out on court, it went out the door!” Lauren said afterwards. “But we got the win!”
