By CAROLINE STRAINIG
SPANISH tennis star Rafael Nadal will be carrying the hopes of the tiny township of Kendall inland from Port Macquarie on his shoulders when he takes to the court today in the Australian Tennis Open.
Kendall won the right to have the World No. 1 represent them in the open in the AO Blitz online competition. If Nadal wins the tournament, Australian Tennis will throw a party for the town in March. Their highest point scorer in the AO Blitz will also win $10,000.
Even if Nadal doesn’t win, Kendall has already won in other ways. Resident Paul Calicetto won the Kia car drawn at random just for entering the AO Blitz. Kendall Tennis Club has also won priceless publicity for its quest to build more tennis courts. The town has also had exposure to thousands of tennis fans at the open, with a large scenic shot and its name plastered above the entrance to Rod Laver arena.
Nadal had an easy pass through his first match on Tuesday evening, when Aussie Bernard Tomic withdrew injured after losing the first set 6-4.
Today he takes on another young Aussie, 17-year old Thanasi Kokkinakis, who impressed with his gutsy first-round win. The match is expected to be on the Rod Laver arena, but the time was not scheduled to be set until late yesterday evening.
While Kendall residents would normally be barricking for the Aussie, this time will be an exception, although tennis club president Wendy Hudson admits it will be tough.
“It really makes it difficult if he is playing an Aussie, but I think everyone will definitely be going for Nadal,” she said.
She added that Nadal’s biggest supporter would undoubtedly be her son Rhyan, 11, who was the highest Kendall point scorer in the AO Blitz – finishing sixth in the country overall – and stands to win $10,000 if Nadal takes out the tournament.
“Rhyan plans to take us on a cruise if he does win – he is very excited about it,” she said.
If today’s match is at night, Kendall tennis fans will gather at their local courts to watch it on a big-screen TV, as they did for Tuesday night’s match and plan to do for every night match Nadal plays.
“Ideally it will come down to him and the defending champion, Novak Djokovic in the final – Djokovic won last year and would have to be Nadal’s biggest threat,” Mrs Hudson said. “It would be fantastic to see them in a really close final.
“I don’t think the tennis courts here would hold everyone to watch it because it would be just so huge for the town.”
Mrs Hudson herself will be watching Nadal play in Melbourne in person, where one of her other sons, Blake, 16, is a ball boy at the Australian Open.
She was going to accompany her son anyway, but as part of the prize for winning the AO Blitz, Tennis Australia flew her and Port Macquarie-Hastings mayor Peter Besseling to Melbourne to meet Nadal during a practice session.
“Nadal was just awesome. He said he would be trying his hardest for us,” Mrs Hudson said.
To win the AO Blitz Kendall residents and supporters – which included six schools in the region – had to do a series of tasks over a period of four months, including fun competitions such as dressing up the family dog or cat.
“I think it was pretty amazing for such a small town as us to win – we have only 1200 residents. The support has just been fantastic and I cannot thank everyone enough,” Mrs Hudson said. “We might be only a little town but we have a big heart.”
She said Kendall also lives for its tennis, with the local tennis club 270-strong and a waiting list for new members to play as they simply cannot cater for any more on the club’s three courts.
The club has obtained land to build more courts and some funding, but desperately needs a corporate sponsor to get the project off the ground.
Defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic is representing Parkes in western NSW.
