Top seeds win in Ipswich
Top seeds Isabelle Wallace and Jordan Smith have been crowned the Optus 14s National Claycourt Champions for 2011 in Ipswich on Monday.
Ipswich, 18 April 2011 | tennis.com.au
Top seeds Isabelle Wallace (East Bentleigh, Vic) and Jordan Smith (Castle Hill, NSW) have been crowned the Optus 14s National Claycourt Champions for 2011 after they both came from a set down to win their singles finals at the George Alder Tennis Centre in Ipswich today.
In the girls singles final, Wallace won her first national junior championship when she defeated fellow Victorian and second seed Annabelle Andrinopoulos (Oakleigh, Vic), 3-6 6-4 6-4 in 2hours and 32 minutes on centre court.
“That was my goal this year, to win a 14s Nationals [tournament] and to keep going in the 16s and ITFs,” said Wallace, who is currently ranked 114 in the Australian Rankings
Andrinopoulos came out firing and quickly jumped to a 4-2 lead and eventually hung on to take the opening set. Last December’s Optus 14s Australian Championships finalist was also a break of serve up in both the second and third sets, before Wallace wrestled back control and closed out a thrilling match.
“I felt disappointed at the end of the first set but then I got back on track – Annabelle played really well in the first set and throughout the whole match,” Wallace said.
In the boys singles final, Smith won his second national junior championship when he defeated second seed Lawrence Bataljin (Tea Tree Gully, SA), 3-6 6-1 6-2 in 1 hour and 38 minutes.
“Lawrence played very well today and got off to a great start leading 5-0, but I managed to start better in the second and third sets which got me over the line,” said Smith, who had previously won a 12/u national championship at the 2009 Optus 12s Winter Nationals.
“I kept positive and kept on going with my game plan. It was a goal to win a 14s Nationals and now it will be to do well in the 16s and get a few ITF points as well as head overseas, which will be a great experience.”
In the girls doubles final, Olivia Tjandramulia (Rockhampton, Qld) won her seventh national junior doubles championship when she teamed with Priscilla Hon (Rochedale, Qld) to defeat the second seeds Isabelle Wallace and Jaimee Gilbertson (Doonan, Qld), 6-2 6-2 in 66 minutes. Last week, Tjandramulia paired up with Lizette Cabrera (Townsville, Qld) to win the Optus 16s National Claycourt Championships.
In the boys doubles final, top seeds Marc Polmans (Brighton East, Vic) and Jake Delaney (Bellevue Hill, NSW) ended the dream run of the unseeded Queensland pair of Lachlan McPhee (Camp Mountain, Qld) and Mitchell Robins (Hamilton, Qld), 6-1 6-2 in 63 minutes.
The Optus National Junior Championships will continue in Ipswich this week, with the Optus 12s National Claycourt Championships starting on Wednesday.