By LIAM TWOMEY
LISTON Tennis Club team manager Dane Nebel is confident his side has what it takes to win the Asia Pacific Tennis League final, which will be played during the Australian Open.
The Seagulls went through the Victorian conference undefeated with the team of Sam Groth, Matt Reid, James Lemke and Rubin Statham justifying their number one seeding pre-tournament.
The final will see the best eight teams from the Asia Pacific region go head to head in a modified rules, knockout tournament.
Sets are played to four games with a five-point tiebreaker at three-all.
Nebel said his players handled the shortened format well during the first stage of competition.
“Initially when the whole thing started I thought, with the format changes, anything could really happen,” he said.
“Tennis is about big points and winning matches has always been about being able to win the big points. That is how the state conference turned out and there is no reason to think anything should change at the national final.
“I’m confident and I think we can win. Now we are just looking forward to it.”
The final will see a who’s who of young Australian tennis players go head to head with John Millman representing Brisbane, while Wimbledon junior champion Luke Saville will play for Adelaide.
Other competitors include Greg Jones, Matthew Barton, Adam Feeney and Alex Bolt.
Despite the high calibre of opposition, the Seagulls’ players enter the final in great form with Matt Reid almost booking himself a place in the Australian Open main draw after he made the final of the wildcard playoff in December.
Reid, Groth and Lemke all played in the Australian Open qualifying draw.
The Seagulls will get together for a final practice session the night before the first match, which Nebel identified as a must-win.
“There are eight teams and we are playing first through to eighth so if you can win your first match, you go into the top four, if you lose your first match then you go into the bottom four,” he said.
“The first match is it really. If you lose your first match then you are out of contention.
“Before the state conferences started they pre-ranked every team in Australia and we were pre-ranked number one.
“Having the number one seed is really important. The top four, us, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide are all really strong. There isn’t much between us. It will just be whoever plays better on the day.”
