SAM Groth has the hopes of those from the Border and beyond riding on his shoulders as he heads into tonight’s second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
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But as he faces teenager Thanasi Kokkinakis in an all-Australian showdown, his former Albury coach Phil Shanahan believes Groth has unfinished business, seeking to break into the world’s top-50 players only two years after struggling to meet the expenses of life on the tennis circuit.
Without wanting to curse his chances, it seems the time is right for the 27-year-old former Xavier High School student to make his mark.
In his first win at Melbourne Park, Groth beat Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic in three sets, after breakthroughs last year at Wimbledon and the US Open.
Shanahan says Groth had 20,000 reasons to quit the sport but such was his passion for the game that he would never walk away, even when financial pressures were upon him.
He credits an intense fitness regime, a burning desire to succeed and the freedom from financial difficulties as the reasons for Groth’s revival.
The Border will be cheering a more relaxed Groth to success when he takes to the court tonight.
