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FROM RETIREMENT TO ALCARAZ DATE: LI TU'S 'EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER'




In his final round of US Open qualifying against Jesper de Jong on Friday, Australia's Li Tu faced two match points against the serve deep into the third set - within whiskers of falling agonisingly short of a first Grand Slam main draw entry in nearly four years.


But that's how it was always supposed to be. Fighting back from adversity, staying resilient and tirelessly persevering until the end were the admirable traits that kept Tu in the contest and ultimately escaped victorious.


The 28-year-old's story is one of those feel-good fairytales that warms the heart.


10 years ago, he quit tennis after the expectations were too much to handle. A bachelor of Commerce was achieved in 2017, igniting his love for the game after starting a coaching business and helping players aspire toward their dreams.


In 2022, Tu's mother sadly passed away after a heroic battle with lung cancer, as he lost his biggest supporter amid his tennis comeback.


Now, Tu is living his own dream - recently accomplishing a career-high ranking of No.180 and has set up a surreal first round match against former US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz on the biggest tennis-only stadium in the world, Arthur Ashe Stadium, on Wednesday morning AEST.


The First Serve's Brett Philipps caught up with Australian tennis' new standout name after his triumph in the last round of US Open qualifying.


"[It's] definitely the biggest highlight and right up there with winning a sole challenger in my career," said an ecstatic Tu. "It's so surreal to qualify and to earn that spot is just incredible."


En route to his second main draw showing, Tu claimed every set bar one, which happened to come against de Jong after the Dutchman won the opening set before the proud Aussie turned the tables to cause a remarkable upset.

"Everyone here is absolute quality," he admitted. "There's no easy matches and you have to fight for every point and you just have to go out there and produce your best tennis, so I'm glad I was able to do that for three matches straight."


At the 2021 Australian Open, Tu made his long-awaited Grand Slam main draw breakthrough when he accepted a wildcard to compete at Melbourne Park, bowing out in four sets against Spanish veteran Feliciano López.


As much as that was a monumental moment in his career, the South Australian explained why battling through the harrowed trenches of US Open qualifying made the occasion sweeter than benefiting from direct entry.

"It means so much. This is honestly a lot more rewarding than getting a wildcard that time," Tu said. "Obviously [the wildcard] was an incredible moment, but I think this time around, playing a full year to get my ranking inside the 220 to get into qualifying, and then to qualify and do it the right way is truly incredible and I'm so grateful."


Arriving at Flushing Meadows off the back of two Challenger tournaments in the States, a quarter-final appearance in Lincoln and lofting the doubles trophy with partner Luke Saville in Chicago set the foundations for a dominant run in the Big Apple.

"I've had some good weeks here in the US leading up to the US Open," Tu admitted.


"I knew my tennis wasn't an issue and that I could produce a high level. I guess this week it was about believing - believing in the hard work, believing that I could do this and to go in with the belief that I'm going to qualify. In a way I can't believe it actually happened."


Although tennis is an individual sport met with many obstacles to overcome, every player including Tu has a support network they can fall back on to help stabilise a whirlwind ride.

"I've got a team of three with me," said Tu. "I've got my wife Kimberly who is here supporting and she flew over last week from Australia, James Mar who has been my best mate for 20 years and my best man at my wedding, and my coach Ben Milner who came last week for training.


"I have a really tight-knit team and it's a real team effort. I couldn't have done it without them."


Tu has suffered his fair share of disheartening lows, so low that he stepped away from the game. 2024 has been far from smooth sailing either as he suffered a seemingly unbreakable losing patch.


"Tennis is a tough sport and I've had my downs this year for sure," he said. "There was a stint in April when I didn't win a match for six weeks and you start questioning.


"There are painful moments and you have to ride the highs and lows, but it's made a lot of hard work pay off. It's nice to get a really big up when you've experienced the emotional rollercoaster that is tennis." Unlike the Australian-British rivalry, the American public tends to rally behind the Aussies for one reason or another - perhaps because of the green and gold's never-say-die attitude and the way they go about their business.


The same exuberant cheers from the crowd were on full display during last week's qualifying campaign.


"It was incredible. I feel like the Americans get around the Aussies," Tu said. "I'm not sure what it is, but I feel like they really like our accent.


"I could feel the energy and the crowd wanted me to get over the line. I was on Court 6 and the energy was electric. I was really amped, every point I could feel the crowd behind me and I'm glad I could get it done." Anyone who follows the tennis calendar appreciates how gruelling it is for players to climb the mountain and reach their full potential. It takes no prisoners. They either grind it out each week across countless destinations or risk slumping in the rankings.


Each individual follows their own unique journey, and after an uninterrupted past few weeks, Lu deservedly took time to soak in the moment by celebrating a superlative feat.


"We discussed as a team that tonight [Friday] I'm just going to celebrate because I feel like it's been a big US swing for six weeks day in day out," he said. "Chicago I lost in singles early but won doubles with Luke [Saville], the following week I made the final of Lexington and then drove the next two days to get to Lincoln [and] made quarters there. It's been hectic.


"After Lincoln, we said let's get ready for New York, my tennis has been great, let's lock in here and focus on qualifying which was a big goal. Now that there's a few days break, the plan is to celebrate and let it sink in and explore New York [before getting] back to work.”


In a global sport accommodating hundreds of top competitors vying for a sniff at glory, the margin for error is thin beyond comprehension.


Achievements such as qualifying for Grand Slam main draws can provide an extra boost of confidence to players such as Tu and instil a mindset of belonging on the big stage.

"Belief has been a real focus for the second phase of my career," Tu said. "Believing that you belong and knowing that you have that level, so when it does happen, you aren't surprised.


"We genuinely believed as a team that I was always going to qualify, and it starts with that belief, and hopefully the rest speaks for itself. It's been a real shift [for me] in the past couple of months.”

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