Court Talk

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NSTA Open Singles Champion for
2016, James O’Brien, played all
his junior tennis in the NSTA and so
we can all get to know more about our
champion, these are his answers to our
Q & A:
How old were you when you first started
to hit tennis balls? I started hitting tennis
balls when I was 3 years old
Who was your coach? My first coach
that I remember was Scott at primary
school
What competition tennis did you play as
a junior? When I was a junior I played in
Saturday morning, Sunday morning and
Saturday afternoon comps in the NSTA.
I also played Badge and Inter-district.
Did you play tournaments as a junior?
When I was a junior I played school
tournaments, local and regional
tournaments, State Age and National
Tournaments
Apart from your victory in the 2016
NSTA Open Mens Singles, what was
your next best tournament victory? My
best junior tournament win would be
the Under 18s Medibank Age. My best
senior tournament would be qualifying
for the pro circuit event in Queensland
and winning my first round to get an ATP
point against a player ranked inside the
top 150 in the ATP
Who, in your opinion, is the best scalp
you’ve conquered? My best scalps
would be Bernard Tomic, Jordan
Thompson and James Duckworth, all
who have made it inside the ATP top 100
If you weren’t good at tennis, what
other sport do you think you would have
pursued? If I wasn’t good at tennis I
think I would have either pursued soccer
or cricket
What do you do in your spare time? I
enjoy going to movies and spending
time with friends
What is your favourite movie? My
favourite movie would have to be
Remember the Titans
What preparation do you do in the lead
up to a tournament? I like to increase
my hitting and match practice to make
sure that I am seeing the ball well and
feeling comfortable on court
What preparation do you do on match
day? On match day I like to get in a
good warm up before my match, make
sure that I have had enough food so I
do not run out of energy on court, and
listen to music before I walk on court
How many times a week do you practise,
and for how long? At the moment I
find it hard to practise but when I was
training full time I would practise 5 and
a half days a week at a minimum of 5
hours a day with on and off court training
Who is your favourite tennis player?
And why? My favourite player is Roger
Federer because he can make difficult
shots look easy, he has an amazing
work ethic and he is definitely the best
tennis player I have ever seen. He
is also a perfect role model for kids
growing up to try and copy how he acts
both on and off the court
Who has been the greatest inspiration in
your tennis life? My greatest inspiration
would be my coach (John Thompson) as
I would never have been able to achieve
anything I have with tennis or in life if it
wasn’t for him
Who has been the greatest inspiration
in your life in general? My greatest
inspiration in general life would have to
be Roger Federer because I think he is
one of the best champions tennis has
ever seen
What goals have you achieved so far?
w ATP World Ranking
w Playing off for a wildcard into the
Australian Open
w Winning AMT Singles and Doubles
Tournaments
w Travel to different countries to play
Tennis
What goals would you still like to
achieve?
w Win Platinum AMT Singles title
w ATP Singles Ranking back
Who is your favourite singer/band? At
the moment I have too many to choose
from but to narrow it down I would say
FLUME, CHVRCHES, Broods, SAFIA
and Taylor Swift
If you could invite 4 famous people
to a barbecue in your backyard, who
would they be? Roger Federer, Michael
Jordan, Mark Webber, Taylor Swift
What is your favourite holiday
destination? Anywhere there is snow for
snowboarding, either the Mountains in
Colorado or Canada
If you could take 3 people on holiday to
your favourite destination, who would
they be? My best friend, Shaun White
and Torah Bright
What did you buy for your Mum last
Christmas? A book and some jewellery
Do you have any pets? Yes I have a
Cavalier King Charles x Maltese, his
name is Charley
What does it mean to you to be the
reigning NSTA Open Mens Singles
Champion? It means a lot to me as
its something that I always wanted to
do when I was a junior and it’s a great
feeling to finally have won the title
Where to from here? Return next year
and defend the title
PAGE 14
KNOW YOUR CHAMPION
(Left) James (2003)