Bright future for Alex| 17 May 12 @ 09:37am

RISING tennis star Alex Bourgeois overcame an energy-sapping sickness to win the first of two under-16s Gold tournaments.

Bourgeois, 16, of Turramurra, captured wins at Inverell and Homebush before finishing runner-up at Bathurst.

This week’s North Shore Times Junior Sports Star Award nominee took out the claycourt event at Inverell despite a sickness which hampered his speed and power.

``I thought it was more rewarding to win like that when I wasn’t at my best,’’ he said.

``I just had to hang in there and play solid tennis and my errors were low.

``Tennis is 80 per cent mental and 20 per cent hitting capability.’‘

The year 10 Knox Grammar School student will compete in upcoming Australian Money Tournaments and try to bolster his NSW ranking of nine in the under-16s division.

After qualifying for the AMT open event at Raymond Terrace earlier this month, the teenager bowed out in the opening round to the tournament’s 6th seed, 7-5, 4-6, 2-6.

``I started really well against a guy who was much older,’’ he said.

“He started hitting out but I played well and I didn’t give him any rhythm in the first set.’‘

In addition to AMT events, the teenager is keen to play in International Tennis Federation and Futures tournaments around Australia and in Asia.

The teenager, who is the nephew of Roger Federer’s former hitting partner, Luke Bourgeois, is looking forward to the challenge of taking his game to another level.

``It’s really important to still try and play against older and better players,’’ he said.

``These guys have more experience, more power and are just faster and it really shows up in the way they play.’‘

Coached by Adam Kennedy, he trains for four hours each week at Dural.