Reaches Finals of the K.A.A.O

Will Boe Reaches the Finals of the K.A.A.O. World Finals in Melbourne, Australia

After a short 6 hour flight from JFK to LAX, Will and his "coach" (his mother), had a two hour layover proceeded by a monster 18 hour flight from LAX to Melbourne, Australia! Yes, 18 hours. Will doesn't know how the passengers on the longest flight ever, which was 22 hours and 40 minutes between Hong Kong and London in 2005, survived, because after 18 hours he was almost certain he was going to die. Will equates the flight to a particularly uneventful math class he once had in high school where he literally watched the clock's second hand slothfully tick for an hour and twenty minutes, which only catalyzed the sensation of time standing still.

Finally in Melbourne with his mother, Will was ready to play the third and final tournament of the Kia Motors Amateur Australian Open. Previously winning the regional qualifying tournament in Newport, Rhode Island, and winning the national qualifying tournament in Atlanta, Georgia, Will was ready to take on the fifteen other national qualifying winners from all over the globe. Except this time, it would be at the Rod Laver Arena during the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia!

To his surprise, the tournament was going to be played in two days, in two locations, and on two surfaces...grass and hard! All the matches, except for the finals, were played on the first day at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club just outside of downtown Melbourne. Will managed to win his first three matches on the grass courts at Kooyong versus players from Hong Kong, Jordon, and Sweden; earning a spot in the world finals the following morning on Rod Laver Arena!

The morning of the world final, Will recalls "being out of sorts" when his alarm went off at 4:30AM because he needed to be showered, dressed, and fed before the 5:30AM shuttle left for Rod Laver. The previous day's seven matches (3 singles + 3 mixed doubles + 1 singles that didn't count because it was versus the wrong opponent) were dragging on his 27 year old body and 10 hours was not enough of a turn around. Upon arriving to Laver, Will was told his opponent (Bart De Gier) would be playing in the mixed doubles final, which would be proceeded by the women's final and ultimately the men's final. However, while Bart was getting a feel for the court, Will was unable to practice because all the courts we being used by the other players in the consolation rounds. Left to a "Rocky" styled warm-up of running around the inner hallways of Laver and jumping rope, Will forged a sweat in hopes of at least being ready to sprint. However, the thought of the difference in timing between the grass courts at Kooyong versus the hard courts at Laver, and his opponent's mixed doubles "warm-up" match, ominously loomed in the forefront of his consciousness.

Call it a self-fulfilling prophecy or just obvious differences in preparation, Will lost his serve in the first game, which, ultimately, served the fatal blow in his quest for the world amateur title because Bart won the set 8-6. A bittersweet end to a great journey to the finals of a truly one of kind event.

The weekend ended with a five-star gala dinner at the Grand Hyatt and 3rd row seats to the men's final between Djokovic and Murray. Ultimately, the KAAO shows that Will is officially one of the top amateur players in the world.