World No.233 Ben Mitchell has given up on his chances of reaching his first Grand Slam main draw since 2013 to attend the birth of his first child.
Mitchell was scheduled to play against top seed James Duckworth in the final of the Australian Open play-off tournament on Sunday. Instead, he withdrew from the tournament to be with his partner, Lois Ovett, for the birth of their child. There is a slight chance that he could be awarded a wildcard for the tournament due to the reason behind his withdrawal. The 23-year-old has left his fate in the hands of Tennis Australia (TA).
“It’s up to TA. They will figure out what they have in mind,’’ Mitchell told The Courier-Mail.
“It’s only the beginning of my career really.’’
Mitchell’s chances of receiving a wildcard are tough. He is currently the 11th highest ranked player in Australia and will be amongst a wide group of players battling for just four wildcard entries. Earlier this year he claimed his first Challenger title in Canberra, Australia. Despite the odds, the 23-year-old is targeting a top 100 place in 2016. Mitchell said that he has ‘motivation’ next year to earn money to support his new family.
This is why I missed my final #AOPlayoff #dad #bravestmumever pic.twitter.com/KCCAgUMOkf
— Benjamin Mitchell (@BenMitchell_11) December 20, 2015
Mitchell’s withdrawal means that Duckworth will play in the Australian Open main draw for the fifth consecutive year. He has reached the second round of the tournament on three occasions (2012, 2013 and 2015).
“It would have been nice to win properly but that’s the way it goes,” Duckworth said.
“We’ve always had tough matches in the past so I wouldn’t have expected anything different today. There’s not much between us.”
In the women’s draw 17-year-old Maddison Inglis stunned Arina Rodionova. Inglis is currently ranked 781st in the world and is yet to win a pro title.
