Mott Continues Thriving In Australia

The first week of February has continued to bring good fortune to Australian Blake Mott.

It was almost exactly 12 months ago that the rising Aussie, ranked No. 721 in the Emirates ATP Rankings at the time, came out of nowhere to win his first ATP Challenger Tour at the $75,000 event in Launceston, Australia. The victory also made him the fifth lowest-ranked Challenger winner since 2000.

This week, he’s into the second Challenger final of his career and it once again comes on home soil. Competing at the $75,000 event in Burnie, Mott defeated fourth seed Mohamed Safwat of Egypt and eighth seed Akira Santillan of Japan on his way to another championship clash against fellow Aussie Omar Jasika.

“We put in a lot of work during the pre-season and I feel like I’m always really fit at this time of year. The body is in good shape after having had a long break at the end of the year as well,” explained Mott about his repeat February success. “Plus I love the courts and love my people in Australia! It’s definitely good to start off the year like this.”

Mott enjoyed another career milestone last month at the Australian Open, taking full advantage of a qualifying wild card to advance into his first Grand Slam main draw. He then had his first experience battling against a Top 20 player in his opening round match against Richard Gasquet.

“That was probably one of the biggest occasions of my life in tennis. It was a big moment for me and my family. I loved every minute of it,” said Mott. “To qualify and know that I earned my spot in the main draw, then go up against a player like Gasquet, were both great experiences for me. I’m just loving playing tennis at the moment and enjoying competing.”

With minimal Emirates ATP Rankings points to defend for the next six months, Mott is aiming to crack the Top 200 and continue climbing from there. But regardless of what happens in the final against Jasika, he’s only taking positives from his week in Burnie.

“I really like coming here. It’s a nice little town and they have great facilities,” said Mott. “Australian players are basically on the road from March to October, so to have Burnie and Launceston back on the calendar is great for us to have a bit more extra time at home.”