Luke Saville

Luke Saville
Country (sports)  Australia
Residence Cobdogla, Australia
Born (1994-02-01) 1 February 1994
Berri, Australia
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Turned pro 2012
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money $504,634
Singles
Career record 2–6
Career titles 0
0 Challengers, 6 Futures
Highest ranking No. 152 (23 February 2015)
Current ranking No. 465 (2 July 2018)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 1R (2013, 2015)
French Open Q2 (2015)
Wimbledon 2R (2014)
US Open Q1 (2015, 2016)
Doubles
Career record 1–7
Career titles 0
0 Challengers, 4 Futures
Highest ranking No. 113 (29 January 2018)
Current ranking No. 113 (29 January 2018)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 2R (2018)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open 2R (2015)
Last updated on: 29 January 2018.

Luke Saville (born 1 February 1994) is an Australian professional tennis player. As a junior, Saville enjoyed a successful career in which he won two junior grand slam singles titles at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and 2012 Australian Open respectively. Saville is also a former junior World No. 1 and an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder. In January 2013, he competed in his first ATP main draw event at the 2013 Australian Open, but has struggled in transitioning from Juniors onto the professional circuit, reaching a highest singles ranking of only 152.

Personal life

Saville was born in Berri, South Australia. He is a keen supporter of the Carlton Blues in the Australian Football League.[1] He has a brother Troy and a sister Katie, who also play club tennis. [2] His relationship with Russian-born Australian tennis player, Daria Gavrilova influenced her decision to become an Australian citizen.[3][4]

Junior career

Saville began to compete in big junior events at the start of 2009, when he was given wildcards into G1 tournaments in Australia. He only managed to reach the round of 16 in the both tournaments, being taken out by James Duckworth and Nikala Sholtz. Saville had no titles at the start of the Australian Open 2009. He beat Greivis Valadziemer, but lost to Dino Marcan in three sets. Later in 2009, Saville was a part of the victorious Australian Junior Davis Cup Team with teammates Jason Kubler and Joey Swaysland.

Saville had a great start to the 2011 with a run against Adam Pavlásek, Dominic Thiem, Nikola Milojević, Lucas Pouille, and Roberto Carballes to reach the final of the 2011 Australian Open, but losing to Jiri Vesely in straight sets in the final.[5]

Saville then won the junior 2011 Wimbledon title, beating Lucas Vrnac, Evgyny Lovskiy, Thiago Moura Monteiro, Joris De Looreand, and Kaichi Uchida on his way to the final. He then defeated home player Liam Broady in three sets.[6]

In 2012, Saville once again made it to the final of the junior Australian Open, where he beat opponent Filip Peliwo in three sets. He became the first Australian to win the Australian Open juniors title since Bernard Tomic in 2008. Later that year, Saville reached the final of 2012 Wimbledon Championships, where he again faced Filip Peliwo. He lost in straight sets.

As a junior, Saville posted a singles win/loss record of 96–39 (and 65–38 in doubles), reaching the no. 1 combined world ranking in January 2012.

Junior singles titles (5)

Legend (Singles)
Grand Slam (2)
Grade A (0)
Grade B (1)
Grade 1–5 (2)
No.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponent in the finalScore
1. 30 October 2010 Thailand Nonthaburi Hard Russia Evgeny Karlovskiy W 6–3, 6–2
2. 3 July 2011 United Kingdom Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom Liam Broady W 2–6, 6–4, 6–2
3. 30 October 2011 South Korea Chuncheon Hard Australia Andrew Harris W 7–6(7–2), 6–4
4. 6 November 2011 South Korea Jeju-Do Hard Australia Andrew Harris W 6–3, 6–4
5. 28 January 2012 Australia Australian Open Hard Canada Filip Peliwo W 6–3, 5–7, 6–4
6. 8 July 2012 United Kingdom Wimbledon Grass Canada Filip Peliwo L 5–7, 4–6

Professional career

2008–2011: Professional tour debut

Saville entered his first professional event in October 2008 as a 14-year-old. The event was held in his home state of South Australia. Saville was awarded a bye in the first round of qualifying but lost in the second round to Ben Mitchell 5–7 0–6.

Saville competed in his first main draw of a futures tournament in February 2009 when he was awarded a wildcard into a futures tournament in Mildura, he fell in the first round to Miles Armstrong 5–7 0–6. The following week he was awarded a second wildcard into the main draw of a futures tournament held in Berri, South Australia, the birthplace of Saville. He would lose in the first round to Matt Reid 4–6 4–6. In preparation for the junior Davis Cup finals Saville was awarded his third wildcard into a futures event held in Darwin. As a fifteen-year-old he won his first round against Steven Goh 7–6(3) 6–3 and in doing so earned his first ever ATP ranking points as well as becoming the youngest player on the ATP rankings. Saville would go on to lose to John Millman in the second round 2–6 0–6.

Saville was awarded a wildcard into the 2010 Australian Open qualifying draw where he fell in the first round to Frenchman Alexandre Sidorenko 1–6 1–6. Following the Australian Open Saville was awarded a wildcard into his first ever challenger event in Burnie, he went down gallantly in three sets to Dayne Kelly 6–4 3–6 4–6. In March Saville traveled to Spain to train at the AIS headquarters and in doing so entered a Spanish futures tournament, he would lose in the first round of qualifying. On return to Australia Saville continued to play clay court tournaments leading up to the Roland Garros juniors by receiving wildcards into future tournaments in Ipswich and Bundaberg respectively. He would reach the second round of both tournaments. Saville entered three more Australian future tournaments later that year but failed to make it past the first round.

Saville once again began his year with a wildcard into the Australian Open qualifying but failed to make it past the first round after losing to Nicolas Mahut in the first round. Following his runner up appearance at the Australian Open juniors he was once again granted a wildcard into the challenger held in Burnie but fell in the first round to Paolo Lorenzi. Throughout the rest of the year Saville competed in futures tournaments across Australia, Thailand, Italy, Netherlands, Great Britain and USA but failed to make it past the first round of the main draw in all tournaments. He would hit some form at the end of 2011 where he made his first ever professional quarterfinal in the last future tournament of the year held in Australia. Saville would finish the year ranked 1,176 in the world.

2012

Saville was awarded qualifying wildcards into the events held in Brisbane, Sydney, and the Australian Open. In Brisbane, Saville reached the second round of qualifying, after defeating Alex Bolt, 6–4, 1–6, 6–3, but later fell to Tatsuma Ito in the second round, 2–6, 2–6. In Sydney qualifying, Saville was knocked out in the first round by Andre Begemann, 4–6, 4–6. Saville lost in the first round of Australian Open qualifying, going down to Ivo Minar, 6–7(3), 1–6.

2013

Saville began his year by losing in the opening rounds of qualifying at both the 2013 Brisbane International and Sydney International to John Millman and Tatsuma Ito, his first top 100 opponent. Saville was awarded a wild card into the 2013 Australian Open. In his ATP main draw debut, he lost in round one to Japanese Go Soeda in four sets. After a number of early round losses in futures and challenger tournaments in Australia, Japan and the United States. After a number of early losses, Saville made the final of the USA futures F10 event in Little Rock. He lost in straight sets to Austin Krajicek.

From May to August, Saville competed in tournaments throughout Asia and North America, with a record of five wins to seven losses. His top result being in the Korea futures F5 event where he reached the quarterfinals. In September, Saville returned to form competing in Australian Futures tournaments. He reached the semifinal at the F6 event in Toowoomba, going down to Andrew Whittington in three sets. After losing in the second round of the Australia F7 in Cairns, he again won through to a semifinal at the Australia F8 tournament in Alice Springs. He lost to Jordan Thompson in a third set tiebreak. After a first round loss in the Australia F9 tournament in Sydney to Blake Mott,[7] Saville won his first title of the year at the Australia F10 event in Sydney. He defeated Yasutaka Uchiyama in a three set final.[8] He was forced to withdraw from his match with Jordan Thompson with a hamstring injury. Saville then returned to the challenger circuit with first round and second round losses in the 2013 Melbourne Challenger and the Traralgon Challenger.[9] In November, Saville made the final of the Thailand F4, but lost to Yasutaka Uchiyama in three sets.[10] He lost to Uchiyama again in round 2 the following week in the Thailand F5. Saville finished his year with a semifinal loss at the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff to Ben Mitchell in straight sets.[11] Saville finished 2013 ranked World No. 398.

2014

Saville was given a wild card into qualifying at the 2014 Australian Open where he lost in the first round to Paul Capdeville in three sets.[12] Saville then lost in the first round of the 2014 Burnie International and the second round of the 2014 Charles Sturt Adelaide International.

Saville next competed in the Australia 2014 Futures F1 event in Happy Valley where he reahced the final, and went down in straights sets to Jarmere Jenkins.[13] The next week in the Australia F2 in Port Pirie, Saville went on to win the title against Jordan Thompson after he was forced to withdraw while Saville led by a set and a break.[14] Saville then claimed another title in the Australia F3 event in Mildura with a three set win over Dane Propoggia.[15] After losing in the second round of the Australia F4 event, Saville went on to win his third Futures title of the year in Glen Iris. Saville defeated Alex Bolt in the final in a match where he was forced to save multiple match points. Saville's run of form in the futures tournaments lifted his ranking from World No. 397 to No. 250.[16]

In May, Saville, made the quarterfinals of the Gimcheon Challenger, but lost to eventual finalist Tatsuma Ito. This was his best result at a Challenger tour event. Saville scored his first top 100 win against top seed Thomaz Bellucci in the first round of qualifying at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships.[17] After defeating Rhyne Williams in three sets, Saville won a long five set final round against Yann Marti which meant he had qualified for the main draw. This would be just his second main draw ATP match of his career.[18] In the first round, he prevailed against Dominic Thiem in four sets. This was his first win in a major championship and as a result, he broke into the top 200 for the first time.[19] He lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the second round.[20] Saville played his final grass court tournament for the year at the 2014 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport. He defeated Sarvar Ikramov and Hiroki Moriya to qualify for his third ATP main draw.[21] He defeated Peter Polansky[22] in straight sets before losing to Nicolas Mahut in the second round.[23]

In July, Saville sustained a lower back issue in the quarterfinals of the Granby Challenger.[24] This injury sidelined him from the US Open and competition for almost three months.[25] Saville returned from injury in October and made the final of the Australia futures F8 event, but lost to Jarmere Jenkins in straight sets.[26] Saville reached the quarterfinals of the 2014 Traralgon Challenger 1, going down to John-Patrick Smith, after taking the first set.[27] He then reached the semifinals of the 2014 Traralgon Challenger 2, before losing to eventual champion John Millman.[28] This result gave him a career high ranking of World No. 158. He lost in the first round of the Toyota Challenger in a third set tiebreak to Mao-Xin Gong.[29] Saville finished the year at the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff where he reached the semifinal.[30] He was forced to withdraw from his match with Jordan Thompson with a hamstring injury.[31] Saville finished the year with a ranking of World No. 164.

2015

Saville was given a wild card into the 2015 Australian Open, where he lost in round 1 to Tim Smyczek in straight sets. In February, Saville reached the quarter final of the 2015 Delhi Open. In May, Saville made the second round of French Open qualifying. In June, Saville made his first final on the ATP Challenger Tour, losing to compatriot Sam Groth in the Manchester Challenger. In June, Saville qualified for Wimbledon for the second year in a row, saving a match point and fighting back from two sets down to defeat higher-ranked Italian Luca Vanni in the final round of qualifying. [32] Saville lost in round 1 to number 21 seed Richard Gasquet in straight sets. In August, Saville won the USA F24 title against Kevin King, but lost in round 1 of qualifying for the US Open to Karen Khachanov. In October, Saville returned to Australia where he made the final of the Brisbane F9, losing to Gavin van Peperzeel in three sets 6–7, 6–2, 6–7. He made the final of the Canberra International but lost to Benjamin Mitchell 7–5, 0–6, 1–6. Saville finished the year with a ranking of world number 174.

2016

Saville lost in round one of qualifying for the 2016 Apia International Sydney and 2016 Australian Open. In February, Saville made the semi-final of the 2016 Launceston Tennis International before heading to Asia where he played in a number of Challenger tournaments, with limited success. In May, Saville lost in round 1 of qualifying for the 2016 French Open. In June, Saville made the quarter final of the Surbiton Challenger before qualifying for the 2016 Wimbledon Championships for the third year in a row [33] Saville finished the year with a ranking of world number 266.

2017

After a disappointing 2016 campaign, Saville admitted that the pressure of expectation had gotten to him in the past, but was "finding his mojo" again after reuniting with former coach Des Tyson.[34] Despite his hopes, 2017 was a disaster year for Saville, who posted just nine main draw singles wins on the Challenger and Futures circuit and failed to make it past the second round at any tournament. Saville also failed to feature in a grand slam main draw since 2012. As a result, Saville's ranking plummeted to 521 to close out the year, his worst year-end ranking since 2011. Despite having a horror year in singles, Saville managed to make seven Challenger doubles finals in 2017, winning once. He finished the season ranked 130 in the world.

Challenger and Futures finals

Singles: 15 (7–8)

Legend (Singles)
Challengers
Futures
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 12 May 2012 Thailand Bangkok, Thailand[35] Hard France Antoine Escoffier 2–6, 6–4, 6–0
Winner 2. 2 September 2012 Australia Cairns, Australia Hard Australia Michael Look 6–1, 7–6
Runner-up 3. 29 October 2012 Australia Traralgon, Australia Hard Australia Benjamin Mitchell 3–6, 6–2, 1–6
Runner-up 4. 21 April 2013 United States Little Rock, Arkansas, USA Hard United States Austin Krajicek 4–6, 2–6
Winner 5. 19 October 2013 Australia Sydney, Australia Hard Japan Yasutaka Uchiyama 4–6, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 6. 30 November 2013 Thailand Bangkok, Thailand Hard Japan Yasutaka Uchiyama 1–6, 6–3, 1–6
Runner-up 7. 23 February 2014 Australia Happy Valley, Australia Hard United States Jarmere Jenkins 2–6, 3–6
Winner 8. 2 March 2014 Australia Port Pirie, Australia Hard Australia Jordan Thompson 6–2, 3–1 retired
Winner 9. 9 March 2014 Australia Mildura, Australia Grass Australia Dane Propoggia 7–5, 6–7(5), 6–0
Winner 10. 13 April 2014 Australia Glen Iris, Australia Hard Australia Alex Bolt 4–6, 7–6(4), 6–4
Runner-up 11. 18 October 2014 Australia Toowoomba, Australia Hard United States Jarmere Jenkins 3–6, 5–7
Runner-up 12. 1 June 2015 United Kingdom Manchester, UK Grass Australia Sam Groth 5–7, 1–6
Winner 13. 9 August 2015 United States Decatur, USA Hard United States Kevin King 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 14. 25 October 2015 Australia Brisbane, Australia Hard Australia Gavin Van Pepezeel 6–7, 6–2, 6–7
Runner-up 15. 8 November 2015 Australia Canberra, Australia Hard Australia Benjamin Mitchell 7–5, 0–6, 1–6

Singles performance timeline

Tournament20102011201220132014201520162017SRW–L
Australian Open Q1 Q1 Q1 1R Q1 1R Q1 Q1 0 / 2 0–2
French Open A A A A A Q2 Q1 A 0 / 0 0–0
Wimbledon A A A A 2R 1R 1R A 0 / 3 1–3
US Open A A A A A Q1 Q1 A 0 / 0 0–0
Total0–00–00–00–11–10–20–10–00 / 51–5

References

  1. ↑ Dashing Russian Daria Gavrilova the latest to call Australia home
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ McGowan, Marc (19 September 2014). "Gavrilova, Saville love match a smash hit on tennis court". Aceland Tennis. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  4. ↑ Russell, Danny (20 January 2016). "Why Russian-born Daria Gavrilova became an Australian citizen". Herald Sun. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Match Reports – News and Photos – Australian Open Tennis Championships 2012 – Official Site by IBM". Australianopen.com. 29 January 2011. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  6. ↑ Bevan, Chris (2011-07-02). "BBC Sport – Wimbledon 2011: Liam Broady beaten in boys' final". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  7. ↑ Marc McGowan (8 October 2013). "Van Peperzeel comes back from the brink in Sydney win". Aceland Tennis. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Marc McGowan (19 October 2013). "Saville savors Sydney slice of success". Aceland Tennis. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  9. ↑ Marc McGowan (31 October 2013). "Ito's hot run continues into Traralgon ATP Challenger quarter-finals". Aceland Tennis. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  10. ↑ Marc McGowan (30 November 2013). "Whittington farewells losing feeling with second title". Aceland Tennis. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  11. ↑ Marc McGowan (13 December 2013). "Mitchell one win from third Australian Open appearance". Aceland Tennis. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Australians progress through Australian Open qualifying". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  13. ↑ "Jenkins overcomes Saville for Pro Tour title". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "Saville caps two great weeks with Port Pirie title". ACELAND. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  15. ↑ "Saville continues stellar Pro Tour form". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  16. ↑ "Saville completes comeback to win Glen Iris Futures title". ACELAND. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "Luke Saville in Wimbledon qualifying upset". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  18. ↑ "Sam Groth, James Duckworth and Luke Saville qualify for Wimbledon in big Australian field". ABC Grandstand Sport. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  19. ↑ "Luke Saville's first round Wimbledon breakthrough". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  20. ↑ "Grigor Dimitrov ends Luke Saville's Wimbledon dream". Courier Mail. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  21. ↑ "Saville qualifies at ATP Newport, Smith one win away". Aceland Tennis. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  22. ↑ "Lleyton Hewitt and Luke Saville advance at Newport ATP tournament". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  23. ↑ "Hewitt, Groth into Newport quarters". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  24. ↑ "10th time lucky: Granby semi-finalist Mitchell tops Saville". Aceland Tennis. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  25. ↑ Marc McGowan (18 September 2014). "Recovering Saville believes top-100 ranking is 'possible'". Aceland Tennis. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  26. ↑ Marc McGowan. "Toowoomba win seals back-to-back titles for Jenkins". Aceland Tennis. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  27. ↑ Marc McGowan (31 October 2014). "Australia's Traralgon hopes rest with unseeded Smith". Aceland Tennis. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  28. ↑ "Millman makes Traralgon final". Tennis Australia}accessdate=2 January 2015.
  29. ↑ Marc McGowan (18 November 2014). "Australians let leads slip in Toyota Challenger defeats". Aceland Tennis. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  30. ↑ Marc McGowan (17 December 2014). "Mitchell avoids fifth set against Propoggia to make semis". Aceland Tennis. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  31. ↑ "Luke Saville withdraws from Australian Open wildcard play-off". ABC News. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  32. ↑ "Australia dazzles on final day of Wimbledon qualifying". Tennis Australia. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  33. ↑ "Wimbledon 2016: Sam Groth flags a grasscourt upset of Kei Nishikori". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  34. ↑ Turner, Matt (January 7, 2017). "SA tennis young gun Luke Saville rediscovering his mojo". The Advertiser.
  35. ↑ "ITF Tennis – Pro Circuit – Thailand F1 Futures – 07 May – 13 May 2012". Beta.itftennis.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
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