ACEING his way into a national representative team and a Victorian tennis team will make for a couple of busy months for Devon Meadows’ tennis prodigy Alex Bulte.
With a passion for tennis starting when he was six – cultivated like many Australian tennis stars before him by watching the Australian Open – Bulte will try to make his own name in the worldwide racquet.
“Since I was six,” Bulte said.
“Started watching it on the TV sometimes when the Aussie Open is on – my favourite player is Rafa (Nadal) and most people say I play like (Novak) Djokovic and well I like Nick Kyrgios.
Bulte, 11, will pack his bags later this week to head over to Europe where he will be part of a Tennis Australia side facing the best from Germany and Italy in a four-week tour.
“They choose who goes on the tour… they go on how you’ve been performing at nationals and rankings,” Bulte said.
“It’s pretty good to be picked.”
“I prefer playing singles… I want to make it into a final and just play well really.”
He’ll return from Europe just in time to head off again – flying to Darwin in August with the School Sport Victoria 12-and-under tennis team for the Bruce Cup.
After blitzing the SSV trials earlier this year, Bulte booked his spot for Darwin and will be one of the premier seeds at the tournament.
“There’s two days of tryouts – one for qualifying – which I didn’t go through as I was seeded,” Bulte said.
“Then there’s five people in each group, five groups of four, and we all play off and the first person in each group automatically go through to the team.
“I came first in my group and it’s pretty good to be the top seed.”
His talent has been recognised in the Australian rankings with Bulte rising to first for his birth year – 2002.
The Bruce Cup runs from 16-23 August in Darwin, Northern Territory.
