Sometimes, it's part of a seasoned player's return from injury. At others, a potential lifeline for a competitor down on form, or luck. For youngsters, it can lead to a long-dreamed-of main draw breakthrough. It is the the annual play-off for the men's and women's Australian Open wildcards, scheduled this year for December 11-17.
This was the course successfully followed by such past winners as Jelena Dokic (before that emotional charge to the 2009 AO quarterfinals), former world No.8 and current Fed Cup captain Alicia Molik, and Casey Dellacqua, all of whom were resuming from extended breaks.
The play-off also served as a springboard for then Wimbledon junior champion Ash Barty at the end of 2011 and, more recently, for young Victorian Jaimee Fourlis, whose maiden match win at a major came with precious wildcard in hand last January. Barty well remembers her play-off debut, and not least because her first opponent was Dellacqua, of all people. Indeed, the younger partner in one of the world’s best doubles teams still occasionally reminds her close friend of the result.
"Her singles head-to-head's 1-0 against me,'' Dellacqua smiles. "I just put it down to the fact that I was expected to win, she had nothing to lose. Ash was always a talent. Even when I lost to her I remember being so angry because I’d lost to this young girl, but after that I was like ‘no, this girl’s good and she’s gonna be great and she’s gonna be a great player for Australia for many years’, so thank goodness she came back and played and thank goodness she found the passion and love for tennis again.’’
More broadly, though, the carrot is an advantage only the Grand Slam nations can dangle. “We’re very lucky as a nation to have a slam, where we have these opportunities for young players or players coming back,’’ said Barty, at the end of a breakout top-20 season that finished with a semifinal appearance at the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai.
“Leading up to December where you have the play-off and then getting stuck into January is really exciting. Sometimes, a lot of the time, it really brings out the best in people.’’
Dellacqua, a two-time winner, recognises the value of what’s on offer, with a first-round Open losers’ cheque these days of more than $50,000. But that is just one positive element to take from an event now turning 15.
(Incidental trivia question: who was the inaugural winner of what started as a male-only competition in 2002? Answer: Todd Reid).
“I think it’s extremely important,’’ Dellacqua said. “For me, I’ve won it a couple of times, we saw Jelena Dokic win it that year she made that quarterfinal run, Alicia won it, and it’s just a nice feeling, a different feeling, to have earned your spot.
“At that time of the year it’s great to get matches, so I think it’s a great set-up, and this this year will be interesting. We’ve got a group of young girls coming through - Lizette (Cabrera) and Jamie and Pri (Hon) - and Jaimee’s had good success so far in the play-off, she kind of steps it up. We’ve got a really good crop of girls competing against each other; the fact that they’re all doing well will bring the best out in each other and the playoff I think is a perfect situation for that.’’