Holt desires back-to-back titles
It will be hard to look past defending champion David Holt in this year’s Australian Indoor Championships; though a strong field is set to make the 2015 Championships one to remember. St Johns Parks’ David Holt hopes to join an illustrious list of players who have claimed back-to-back Australian Indoor Championships when he takes to the carpet at Tweed Heads next week.
Since migrating to Australia back in 2002, Holt had his eyes on an Australian Indoor title having watched the event for a number of years on the ABC.
Holt had a stellar indoor career in England but admittedly found the Tweed Heads carpet hard to master; that was until last year when he blasted through the field to claim his maiden Australian Indoor Championships crown.
Holt says his long international career representing England since 1988 will hold him in good stead for this year’s Championships as he enters the competition with a target on his back.
“I won’t feel any different playing in this year’s event as the reigning champion; experience tells you to just win one game at a time,” said an experienced Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
“If anything it’s an advantage not having to go through the state qualifying as last year I had consecutive matches against Australian Squad member Ray Pearse and NSW representative Ben Twist just to get to Tweed Heads; therefore to have a direct entry is massive.
“This year hasn’t been my best year to be honest and I’ve had a couple injury problems to contend with so I wouldn’t say I was overly confident going into this year’s event.
“With that said I know indoor is probably my favourite surface so if I can get through the first couple of games I reckon I’ll have as much chance as anyone else.”
This year’s Australian Indoor Championships field is as strong as ever with the likes of Australian Jackaroo Barrie Lester, Australian Open Singles Champion Aaron Teys and current Australian Champion of Champion singles winner Scott Thulborn in the draw, making it a difficult task to pick an early favourite.
Holt will meet Darren Monks from Tasmania in the opening round and if Holt and New Zealand Blackjack Paul Girdler can register first round victories, the crowds will be treated with a superb second round match up with an international flare.
Whilst Holt admits that 2015 has started slow for him, 2013/14 was a highlight year in Holt’s career since moving to Australia.
Holt not only won the Australian Indoor Championships in 2014, but he already bagged another Australian singles trophy when he took out the Australian Champion of Champion Singles in Adelaide in 2013.
Holt represented Australia at the World Champion of Champions in New Zealand where he was a semi-finalist and then also at the World Cup at Warilla where Holt was one win short of a world title, going down in the final to Scotland’s Iain Mclean 4-9, 6-6.
The Australian Indoor Championships kicks off at Tweed Heads from August 24-27 with all the finals set to be live streamed for those that cannot make it to Tweed.
For more information about the Australian Indoor Championships follow this link.
