At the Australian Open

Third Grand Slam for Lienz tennis hopeful

Lilli Tagger kicks off in Melbourne on Saturday. Before that, she met her sister Emma, who has been traveling through Australia for the past three months.

(Bild: zVg)

Tennis talent Lilli Tagger is looking forward to the Australian Open Juniors on January 18. Before the test tournament for Melbourne, however, the 16-year-old was sick in bed for two days. There was a happy reunion with sister Emma over 14,000 kilometers away from home.

Premiere in "Down Under"! East Tyrolean Lilli Tagger will be competing at the Australian Open for juniors from Saturday. "I want to get through three to four rounds," is the 16-year-old's goal. This will be her third participation in a junior Grand Slam, having already played at Wimbledon and the US Open last year.

Fortunately, I'm feeling better now. I want to get through three to four rounds at the Australian Open.

Lilli TAGGER, Tennis-Hoffnung aus Osttirol

In December, she also played her first tournament on the WTA Tour in Limoges (Fr) - and sensationally won her first round match against the world number 159. As a result, she is already ranked 770th in the world rankings and 45th in the ITF junior rankings.

Lilli Tagger currently has 38 points in the WTA rankings.

(Bild: zVg)

Sister Emma traveled through Australia
There was a nice reunion after two long flights when Lilli arrived on January 1st. Sister Emma had traveled through Australia for three months after graduating from high school - and drove from Sydney to Traralgon especially for Lilli in her last week. The two shared a room there for four days and Emma looked after her younger sister. "It was really great that Emma was here - also because it's the first time I've been so far away from home," emphasizes the Lienz native, who then fell ill and, with a fever and sore throat, even feared for her participation in the test tournament.

In the stands at Sinner's victory
Exhausted, she even managed one more victory - but then it was over. "She was completely empty," says mom Sabine, who is always Lilli's support on the phone. "We talk every day before I go to bed," says Lilli, who has been training in Melbourne since yesterday and also watches the pros. "We watched Jannik Sinner's first game and will certainly be watching more often."