By Ben Triandafillou
THE young duo, Alex and John McDonald, have cleaned up in the Frankston Summer Classic taking home both the under- 14s singles and doubles knockout tournaments.
The Frankston Summer Classic on January 2nd run by the Better Tennis coaches was a three day tournament with about 150 entries, 36 of which were in the under-14 division.
Alex was able to triumph in the singles winning five straight matches including a difficult 6-4 3-6 10-5 win in the singles, while John came out on top in the doubles defeating twin brother Alex, 6-3 6-3, with partner Neel Mohan.
“We’ve played a lot of times against each other which is unfortunate but there’s no real rivalry between us, we are pretty good together” says Alex McDonald.
The brothers also won the under-14’s Doubles at the Tennis Australia Gold Series Warrnambool Grasscourt JT & AMT Tournament on 31st December. In the final the pair got up to win against a tough, second- seeded opposition 7-5 6-1.
“It’s good playing doubles. We are going well lately and made a few finals which is good” says Alex.
Then on January 10, the McDonald brothers finished runners-up in the under-14’s doubles at the 2017 Margaret Court Cup in Albury against a strong fifth- seeded opposition.
With the support of the Mount Eliza Tennis Club coaches, the pair is determined to develop their skills and improve their game.
“They’re there to learn, they want to get better and pretty much anything you throw their way they’ll give it a try” said Mount Eliza Tennis coach David Laird.
Alex and John are coached twice a week at Mount Eliza by head coach Steve Foot and are assisted by their running coach Nathan Bonney to improve their agility and foot work.
The McDonald brothers are avid to enhance their game often practising in their spare time. John even took it upon himself to only drink water during 2016, when asked how it was; John sarcastically replied, “It was great”.
Alex and John McDonald are now preparing for their next few tournaments, including the North East Junior All Stars Classic in Wangaratta, hoping to keep their impressive start to the year going.