Max Phillips will head into Monday's Warrnambool Grasscourt Open in red-hot form.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 14-year-old ticked off a major goal earlier this month, winning his first under-14 singles title at Bendigo.
Entering the Rising Sun Summer tournament as a third seed, Phillips didn't lose a set on his way to the final.
There, he sealed victory, defeating seventh seed Niki Zandes in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.
But securing back-to-back tournament wins, this time at his home-town event Warrnambool Grasscourt Open, would mean the world to Phillips.
"This is by far my favourite tournament of the year," he said.
"The courts, the people, being at home and the tennis is really high quality too, so I'm looking forward to it."
The Emmanuel College student said his recent win at Bendigo would give him greater confidence on court to match it against the best at Warrnambool.
"I've won in other age groups, but that was my first under-14 tournament win," he said.
"My overall energy is up; I've been running to balls a lot faster and I've been hitting the ball stronger.
"But I win most of my games from consistency."
Phillips, who trains at Supergrasse Tennis Complex, will tackle "a bit of everything" throughout the five-day event.
Following his under-14 singles and doubles commitments, Phillips will join forces with sister, Jasmine, 12, for the under-14 mixed doubles, and dad Ted for the 'parent-child' doubles.
Growing up playing pennant at the lawn courts, Phillips is hoping that first-hand experience will play to his advantage.
The open is a gold classified Junior Tour tournament, which allows players to accumulate points towards their rankings.
Phillips said he was hoping to leap inside the top 20 after rising from 21 to 20 following his Bendigo win.
"If I can get a good result from this one, hopefully my ranking can go up even more," he said.
The open begins on Monday from 9am.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard:
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark https://www.standard.net.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines and newsletters
- Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn
- Tap here to open our Google News page.
- Join our Courts and Crime Facebook group and our dedicated Sport Facebook group
- Subscribe