South African junior tennis star John Bothma had a comprehensive Australian Open first round win over local player Raphael Savelli, winning 6-1, 6-3.
Bothma, who will turn 18 on 1 February 2026, was pleased with the result and felt that he adapted better to the conditions.
“Overall, I’m happy with my performance.
“I mean first time really playing on that big of a court, with fans in the stand. I was very nervous. I adopted better than my opponent.”
Some nerves
There were some nerves for the 33rd-ranked world junior Bothma, but he didn’t want them to show.
“That was my plan. I knew I was going to be nervous, but the main goal for me was to show my opponent that I’m not nervous and show him that I’m unfazed.
“I knew that both of us will be very nervous coming into the match. I just had to be 1%, 2% better than him.
“I didn’t have to play the greatest tennis.
“I wanted to show the fans that I’m just cool, calm, and collected.”
It was important for Bothma not to show too much emotion,
“Otherwise, if you show a bit of emotion in a negative way, the crowd sees that. He sees that.
“I think this match helps a lot to settle the nerves for a first round match. You don’t want to come here and lose first-round.
“So, I think that will help a lot.”
Serving was key
Bothma pinpointed his serving as a key part of the victory.
“I started finding my serve as well, which helped a lot.
“I found my serve very well and then as the match wore on, he started to try to get the crowd involved and he tried to fight really hard.
“I’m not used to changing balls seven and nine games. So, I think with the serve it helped a lot. I was able to get a lot of free points.”
Bothma was honest in his assessment of his game.
“Obviously, I can make some improvements everywhere. It’s a great start to the week.”
Mentally strong
Bothma highlighted that the mental side of his game was very strong.
“I think I did very well mentally. I didn’t really get phased by it.
“I think for this match the best thing was the mental side and not the tennis side of things. I dealt with that very well.
“I made a lot of balls when I needed to.”
Bothma came to the net frequently during the match – with great effect.
“Yeah, he was he was sort of looping shots back on his backhand on his forehand, I felt like I needed to sort of take time away.”
‘Bit tentative’
However, Bothma was not completely happy with this part of his game.
“I still think I could’ve been better in that sort of department. I thought I was a little bit tentative just because of the surroundings.
“Overall, I think I came to the net well and took time away from him.”
For the next match, Bothma was clear on what he would like.
“I would like to probably start the match with a little bit of a looser arm. I would like to get a little bit more pace in my shots.
“I’ve got a very tough match second round. Yeah, I’m up for it. I think I’ve settled the nerves pretty well.
“I don’t think it will be the same in the next match.”
Based in Durban
Bothma revealed that he is based in Durban and spent time training in France for two years.
“I’m from Durban. I train now out of Durban.
“I was training in France from 2023 for two years at The Mouratoglou Academy.
“Now for the last couple of months it’s me, and another player in the draw (Connor Doig). We train out of Durban.”
Connor was watching Bothma’s match but very much kept to himself.
“We try to do our own thing here. Keep it cool.
“Yeah, it was nice to have them there. I’ve known him since I was 5, 6 years old.
“So, it’s a great story for us to be here together at a Grand Slam. It was very nice to have him on the side of the court.”
Return the favour
Bothma admitted he will return the favour when Doig plays his first round match.
“For sure I’ll watch his match. If his match is 6-1, 6-3, I might not have to say anything.
“But if it’s getting closer, I’m going to give him some support for sure.”
Bothma received a direct entry into the junior singles draw and this is his first appearance at a Grand Slam.
“It’s been a tough time for me last year. I missed out on a few slams because of injuries.
“I won a few tournaments towards the end of the year.
“I’m happy to be in my first Grand Slam and I’m happy to be here.
“It was nice to some South Africans in the crowd supporting me.”
Dave Marshall is reporting exclusively from the 2026 Australian Open in Melbourne for The South African.
