- Crawford is ranked 213 in the world but has rocketed to British No 9 with switch
- The player is an alum of University of Florida, like US men’s player Ben Shelton
- His parents emigrated from Birmingham but Crawford was raised in America
British tennis looks to have found a reasonable new talent, although it cannot be said that he is a product of the system.
Freshly minted Brit Oliver Crawford was left as as the only UK player to make it into the final qualifying stage of the Australian Open after making the switch at the start of this year from representing the United States.
On Friday morning he was due to meet Czech Vit Kopriva in a bid to secure a first main draw Grand Slam appearance. Crawford, 24, was raised in South Carolina by parents who emigrated from Birmingham and has chosen to take advantage of his UK passport.
He has played on the Futures circuit since graduating from the University of Florida.
Oliver Crawford (pictured in March) has become British No 9 since switching his allegiances
He said he had been welcomed by other British players, and is the only survivor after eight men and women started out in the preliminaries.
‘The other boys have been unbelievable,’ said Crawford, whose accent is definitely more South Carolina than Brummie.