Gabriella Da Silva-Fick claimed the 16/u title at the 2016 Australian Championships with a straight-sets final victory on the last day of this summer’s December Showdown.
New South Wales’s Da Silva-Fick, the tournament top seed, downed fifth seed Selina Turulja with a pitch-perfect display in the girls’ final at Melbourne Park, playing on the front foot throughout to seal a 6-2 6-2 win.
Turulja, who beat 14/u champion Olivia Gadecki in the semifinals, asked plenty of questions of Da Silva-Fick with her steady play and changes of pace from the baseline.
But time and again the top seed had the answers, firing a barrage of forehand winners to close out the first set
The 16-year-old showed some fine touch from the midcourt with a drop shot winner to open up an early break at the start of the second, breaking once more en route to the title.
“It was a really tough match – I always have tough matches against Selina – and I think I played the best I have throughout the tournament,” Da Silva-Fick said.
“I was really happy with how mentally tough I was. I had to be really tough on myself and be really disciplined.
“When we play all the professional tournaments in Australia, like the Futures, we have to keep our standard up when we play these tournaments. It’s another junior, but the standard is so high that you have to be really tough.”
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