Dream achieved for one-armed tennis player Hunt

The victory in the first round of the US$15,000 Men’s Futures in Guam also meant the Kiwi will receive his first world ranking point.
The 23-year-old, who was born without a lower left arm and who plays with a prosthetic arm, whitewashed Christopher Cajigan of the Northern Mariana Islands 6-0 6-0 without dropping a game. The Nelson-based player, who received a wild card into the tournament, was pleased with his form, saying the key was his ability to control his opponent’s serve with his forehand and dominate points despite early nerves.

“I’ve been dreaming of how it would feel when I won my first ATP point, and it didn’t really unfold as I expected. But I survived early nerves to really dominate the match and get the result in the bag. I’m pleased with my form and will look to build on this win as the event goes on,” said Hunt, who was also had a wild card at an ITF event in Hua Hin three weeks ago before losing to Thai No 1 Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul.
Hunt had earlier beaten nine Thai players to make the semi-finals in a local tennis event in Thailand before exhaustion took its toll against Thai doubles specialist Sanchai Ratiwatana.
Hunt relies on a foundation of strong serves and forehand while using a one-handed backhand to play off his left wing. 
The youngest of three brothers, Hunt grew up on a sheep station in Wakefield and is playing full time in Asia and Europe this year with the goal of maximising his haul of ATP ranking points.

After finishing High School at Nelson College for Boys, Hunt played NCAA Division 1 College Tennis for St Mary’s College in Moraga, California for four years, leading the team in his final year.
In the second round in Guam, Hunt will play the winner of the match between qualifier Masayoshi Ono and top seed Hiroyasu Ehara, ranked 639th in the world, in an all-Japanese affair. 
Following the Guam event, Hunt will head to Europe where he will train and compete in events from a base in Madrid.