Aussie duo receive US Open wildcards

Teenager Jessica Moore and Alun Jones will join the Australian contingent in the main draw at this year's US Open after receiving wildcards on Wednesday.

Moore, 16, is ranked No.29 in the world junior rankings and is rated one of this country's best female prospects.

After winning her first US$10,000 ITF tournament in Ilkley, Great Britain in early August, and also finishing runner-up at another ITF event in Davos, Switzerland two weeks earlier, Moore's WTA ranking improved to 629 from a mark of 980 in April.

Jones, meanwhile, has had a consistent few months on the Challenger circuit, achieving a career-high ranking of 123 in the world.

He won Nottingham, finished runner-up in Segovia, and reached the quarter-finals of Dublin, Manchester and Istanbul, in addition to winning a Futures tournament in Great Britain.

Both are Australian Institute of Sport athletes.

"It's very exciting to be playing main draw at the US Open," Moore said. "David (Taylor, AIS women's coach) told me about the wildcard just after I won in Ilkley. I was on such a high after winning my first ITF tournament and to be told that I'd been given the wildcard really topped the week off."

"I'm really looking forward to playing in New York. I'll have no pressure on me and I'll try to stick to the game I've been working on."

Moore made her Grand Slam debut earlier this year at the Australian Open where she bowed out to No.3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round.

Jones, 27, contested qualifying at the US Open in 2003 and 2006, but lost both times in the first round.

"Since Wimbledon I played six tournaments in a row and had some solid results," Jones said. "Working with the AIS has been great for me this year. It's been unbelievable to travel with a coach and have that support and I'm sure it's helped my results."

"I've been working on trying to take a few more risks on the court. I used to play the percentages all the time, now I'm trying to be more aggressive and finish the points off at the net."

One men's and one women's singles main draw wildcard is made available to Australian players through a reciprocal Grand Slam exchange between the United States Tennis Association and Tennis Australia.

The US Open will be held at Flushing Meadows from August 27 to September 9.