Tyler eyes up US Open bid

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 16: Rising star Tyler Smith has her path planned out to qualify for the US Open Junior Tennis Championships this September.

Her bid for glory starts in South Africa in March as Smith, 16, competes in two tournaments with the aim of securing a ranking spot high enough to qualify for the prestigious event.

Then, if all goes well, her ambitious plan includes adding the junior Wimbledon and Australian Open to her schedule for 2014.

Smith has been home in Bermuda a month for the Christmas holiday period and on Saturday she played doubles with her mom to keep herself in shape for what could be a momentous 12 months.

The former Caribbean Under-13 champion said 2012 was “a very successful year”, which saw her reach the final of the Barbados  Junior Tournament.

En route she beat two Americans and girls from Trinidad and Belarus before losing to Danielle Spielmann from Switzerland.

Smith said: “This year I’m trying to get into the US Open. My ranking has to be at least 160 and my ranking right now is 344.

“I’m going to South Arica in March for two tournaments.”

Those tournaments start her season as they did last year when, between  singles and doubles tournaments, she played girls from South Africa, Israel, Madagascar, Egypt, US, Switzerland, Serbia, Russia, and the Czech Republic. Her busy schedule saw her play in 15 tournaments in seven countries as she earned valuable ranking points.

For now she’ll return to Pembroke Pines, Florida, where she trains during the school season.

Smith said the focus will be “on the simple stuff like fitness”.

She said her daily schedule at school includes five hours of tennis and two hours of gym time, while  the rest of the day is spent on her studies.

“If the US Open goes well, then next year I will probably be going to the Australian Open and Wimbledon.”

She said the other Grand Slam event, the French Open, is more iffy, but the best-laid plans would see her competing in three of the four majors in 2014.

She said: “My best surface is grass — I like grass.”

Smith can hardly contain her enthusiasm as she prepares for her jump up to the sport’s biggest events.

“I’m excited and anxious because I want to get there really bad. That’s all I want to do.”

Smith’s former doubles partner at Pembroke Pines, Marjorie Le Roux has made the switch and is now playing on the circuit.

“She played the US Open last year and she’s at the Australian now.

“This is motivation for me because she’s a year older than me and I’m trying to reach that level now before I turn 17, which is motivating.”