Dec. 13, 2017
MELBOURNE, Aus. – Prior to joining the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team for her final season, redshirt-senior Astra Sharma will compete in the doubles final of the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff alongside Florida’s Belinda Woolcock.
Once enemies on the court, the SEC Aussies teamed up over the summer and have continued to compete in doubles draws tournament after tournament.
Tuesday’s doubles semifinal match against top-seeded Jessica Moore and former Georgia Bulldog Ellen Perez was a tight competition. Fourth-seeded Sharma/Woolcock opened the match taking the first set 7-4. Moore and Perez rallied back into the competition to win the second set, 6-4. The Commodore/Gator combo pulled off the upset to secure their spot in Thursday’s final in a 10-point tiebreaker, 7-5, 4-6, 10-7.
Sharma and Woolcock will take on the tournament’s second-seeded duo, Destanee Aiava and Tammi Patterson, in the wildcard finale. For Commodore fans Down Under, match play will take place in Melbourne Park with free entry. Live scoring will be provided with first serve set for 5 p.m. CT.
