Kim out to keep up with the Jones
KIM Birrell was the furthest place from a major tennis arena when she was blown away on court yesterday.
The bubbly 20-year-old wasn’t playing 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams; nor was it her Australian Open conqueror Angelique Kerber who stunned her.
Instead it was 10-year-old Emerson Jones, who Birrell had a hit with during a visit to Coomera Anglican College, from where she graduated in 2015.
It’s been two months since the Gold Coaster’s breakout tournament at the Australian Open.
Having already beaten Brisbane International seventh seed Daria Kasatkina earlier in the summer, Birrell defeated Donna Vekic en route to a third round centre court meeting with Kerber.
Ever since then, Birrell has become a more familiar name in the Australian public and Coomera Anglican College students were delighted to meet the rising star.
Birrell gave away a stack of tickets to Australia’s upcoming Fed Cup semi-final tie against Belarus in Brisbane before joining students Lucas Crummer and Baxter Dent in hitting against Emerson and her 12-year-old brother Hayden.
All four impressed Birrell, with Emerson in particular showing ability and power way beyond her years.
“I wasn’t expecting so much power from such a little human,” Birrell laughed.
“She is going to give me a run for my money one day I bet.”
Birrell also addressed a group of students and happily took endless questions – the first of which led to her revealing her target of cracking the world’s top 100 by the end of the year.
She is currently the No. 156 and is in line to have a chance to qualify for each of the three remaining 2019 slams: the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
Coomera Anglican College principal Mark Sly was pleased to see their school’s emphasis on respect and acting as a role model had paid off, though he was hardly surprised.
“You would never have to pull her up for anything,” Sly said. “She was always doing the right thing because she wanted to and she knew the importance of that for younger people.”
“I couldn’t help but notice the difference in Kim’s postmatch interview at the Australian Open when she lost to Kerber and how bubbly and positive she was about the experience as opposed to some of the young male Australian players who didn’t win their match and wanted to blame everyone else.”
Australia’s Fed Cup semifinal will be held on April 20-21.