Jasika Excelling On Home Soil
Some players feel pressure playing in front of a home crowd, but Australian teenager Omar Jasika has been thriving on it. The Tecnifibre player finished 2016 by reaching his first ATP Challenger Tour semi-final in Canberra, and has started 2017 with his career-best result. Competing at this week’s $75,000 event in Happy Valley, the 19-year-old wild card from Melbourne upset fifth seed Norbert Gombos in the opening round and took out fourth seed Peter Polansky in the quarter-finals. On Saturday, he fought through Joris De Loore to prevail in a third-set tie-break and advance to his first Challenger final. “I love playing at home and enjoy playing in front of the Aussie crowd,” said Jasika. “I had a pretty good...