From New Zealand pasture to French clay, a young sportsman with strong family connections in the dairy industry is making a name for himself on the tennis courts of Europe.

Now based in Germany, Jamie Mackenzie, 18, recently took out the junior boys’ doubles title at the prestigious French Open in Paris.

His father and manager Justin Mackenzie was born in Tauranga, with his grandfather Ken Mackenzie a machine operator at the former dairy factory in Katikati for around seven years.

He was then transferred to the former Sunny Park Dairy Company in Te Poi, near Matamata, and, after its closure, worked for Fonterra in Hautapu before retiring at 66.

Justin was 2 when his parents came to Te Poi, attending the local school for a short time before heading to Matamata Primary School and ultimately Matamata College.

His mother, Kay, tested milk samples at LIC (Livestock Improvement Corporation) in Matamata.

Justin started playing tennis aged 8 at the Matamata Tennis Club.

“My mother always took me to her tennis club on Saturdays, where I constantly practised against the wall, hoping that eventually an adult would approach me to play tennis with them.”

The family lived in Matamata until Justin was 18, when he won the 18-and-under New Zealand national men’s doubles tennis title and was invited to move to Auckland by Davis Cup captain Jeff Simpson to train with the national squad.

Jamie was born in 2008 when Justin was the head coach at the West End Lawn Tennis Club in Auckland.

Justin had previously been a travelling professional coach for Tennis New Zealand and a development coach for Auckland Tennis.

“Jamie spent a lot of time on the side of the courts while I coached,” Justin says.

“From the very beginning, it was Jamie’s big dream to become a professional tennis player.

“I always took him with me to the ATP tournaments in Auckland and the Australian Open.

“That, of course, fuelled his dream even more. Now he’s playing in the junior Grand Slams and gets to use the same courts as the big stars.”

Jamie Mackenzie in action on the red clay at Roland Garros, where he won the French Open junior doubles tennis title.

The connection with Germany began when Justin played professional club tennis in Düsseldorf at the age of 19.

“After Jamie became the junior number one in New Zealand and Australia at the age of 11, I wanted to go to Europe with him to see how he would fare against the best young European players,” Justin says.

“After some successful experiences – winning three tournaments – we decided to stay in Europe.

“I was also playing professional tennis at that time and found a club, RW Düsseldorf, for league matches. That helped me and us a lot.”

In September 2019, the more permanent move to Germany became a reality. Jamie now represents the country.

“I asked a friend of mine from years before if he knew of any tennis jobs [in Europe] as I thought we could come back when he [Jamie] was 15 or 16,” Justin says.

“He said he had one, but I had to be back in Europe in six weeks.

“I made a decision in 58 hours to leave my club of 19 years in Auckland and take the gamble to move to Germany with Jamie.”

The pair got “stuck” in Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic and were not able to return to New Zealand.

“The German Tennis Federation offered us a lifeline during Covid by allowing Jamie to move to their national training base in Hanover, three hours away from where we live as no one was allowed to train outside these controlled bases.”

Jamie was at the time ranked No 1 in Germany for boys’ players aged 12 and under.

Justin now coaches 50 hours a week for TC Rheinstadion in Dusseldorf, where Jamie also trains while playing for Rochusclub in the Tennis Bundesliga, the top level of the German tennis league system.

“I try to act more as a mentor and father figure and hardly as a coach,” Justin says.

“I’m there for Jamie if he wants to talk about specific things.”

Earlier this year, Jamie won two singles titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors in Germany and Italy.

The J500 tournaments provide premier playing opportunities for players on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors and are a rung below Junior Grand Slams in terms of ranking points on offer.

He combined with German compatriot Vincent Riasach to win the French Open junior boys’ singles title on the famed clay courts at Roland Garros, also reaching the singles quarter-finals.

Following that success, Jamie was granted a wildcard into qualifying at the ATP 500 grass tournament in Halle, Germany. He then heads to London for Wimbledon.