Austen Denis Childs (born 23 February 1989) is a New Zealand former

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. Childs grew up in

Mount Maunganui Mount Maunganui (, ) is a major residential, commercial and industrial suburb of the Tauranga metropolitan area, located on a peninsula to the north-east of Tauranga's city centre. It was an independent town from Tauranga until the completio ...

and was ranked amongst the world's top 50 players on the

ITF Junior The ITF Junior Circuit is the premier level for worldwide competition among under-18 junior tennis players. Founded in 1977 with only nine tournaments, the 2011 ITF Junior Circuit offered over 350 tournaments in 118 countries. Mirroring the ATP an ...

circuit, with a quarter-final appearance at the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

a highlight. Instead of professional tennis, Childs opted to attend college at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

in Kentucky and play collegiate tennis. As a junior in 2010 and unseeded, he became the first New Zealander to make an NCAA Division I Championship final. He was beaten in the final by

Bradley Klahn Bradley Klahn (born August 20, 1990) is an American professional tennis player from Poway, California. Klahn played collegiate tennis at Stanford University, where he won the 2010 NCAA Singles Championships as a sophomore. His next year as a ...

of Stanford. Two-weeks after making the NCAA final he was called into the

New Zealand Davis Cup team The New Zealand men's national tennis team represents New Zealand in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by Tennis New Zealand. New Zealand currently compete in Group II of the Asia/Oceania Zone. They have played in the World Group ...

, captained by his childhood coach Marcel Vos, for a tie against Pakistan in Taranaki. Considered a surprise selection, Childs was used for the deciding fifth rubber, picked ahead of Michael Venus who had earlier played a lengthy match in losing to Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi. Childs was able to defeat

Aqeel Khan Aqeel Khan (born 30 January 1980, in Karachi) is a Pakistani tennis player. He is the current Pakistani number one and National Champion. His favourite surface is Grass. He is coached by Pakistani tennis coach Jamil Khan, who is his fa ...

in straight sets to secure the tie for New Zealand.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Childs, Austen 1989 births Living people New Zealand male tennis players People from Mount Maunganui Sportspeople from the Bay of Plenty Region Louisville Cardinals athletes College men's tennis players in the United States

See also

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