18 March 2015 | Tennis Victoria

Tennis Victoria Premier League began under perfect conditions with a double header weekend. Super rounds were hosted all over Melbourne giving tennis fans a great choice of high quality tennis to watch.

Round 1 of the Women’s Premier League was held at the new Mornington Tennis Centre and the new clay court venue didn’t disappoint. Preseason favourites, Kooyong Lawn TC, led by 14/u World No.1 junior Destanee Aiava, sounded an ominous warning to the rest of the competition, dispatching MCC Tennis 6 rubbers to 0, with a loss of only 23 games. New team and host venue, Mornington, battled valiantly against another new side in Beaumaris Lawn TC but went down 4 – 2. Jessica Zaviacic added to Beaumaris Lawn’s squad depth which proved the difference for the visitors. In the final match Dendy Park defeated Royal South Yarra Lawn TC 5 – 1.

Round 1 of the Men’s Premier League was held at Grace Park Hawthorn Club. Home side Grace Park started their title defence well defeating Kooyong Lawn TC 4-2 also winning them the Paul Arber Cup. In the first upset for the season, the Country All Stars defeated MCC Tennis. Former Davis Cup player, Peter Luczak did his best for MCC putting them in a winning position by winning his doubles and singles rubbers but it wasn’t enough with the Country All Stars winning by a set. The remaining match was also a close affair with Royal South Yarra also defeating new team Bundoora TC by a set.

Round 2 saw the Women’s competition head to Dendy Park TC. Kooyong Lawn added another win to the board defeating Royal South Yarra Lawn 5-1. Beaumaris Lawn were also too strong for local rivals Dendy Park only dropping 25 games for a convincing win. WTA Tour player and team captain Joanne Karatiana did a lot of the damage for Beaumaris Lawn winning both her doubles and singles rubbers in straight sets only dropping 5 games.

Bundoora Tennis Club hosted the second round of the Men’s competition. Proving again that they know how to engage the community, over 200 local spectators witnessed the home side do battle with powerhouse Kooyong Lawn. While the score read 5-1, the match was a tightly contested effort by both sides. In the other matches, the Country All Stars couldn’t continue their winning ways with a heavy 6-0 loss to preseason favourites Grace Park.

Tennis Victoria Executive Manager Nick Hinneberg said “The double header weekend had everything. There were upsets, down to the wire matches and also some dominant displays. Now in its fifth year, it’s great to see the competition being supported by world class players and by new and established competing clubs.”

Round 3 will take place this Friday 20 April March from 6:30pm.  Kooyong Lawn TC will host the Men’s competition and Beaumaris Lawn TC will host the Women’s competition.  Following Round 3 there will be a break to allow players to play in the Pro Tour events at Melbourne Park and Mornington.  Round 4 will resume on Friday 10 April.