Saville wins Port Pirie Pro Tour
South Australian Luke Saville and Misa Eguchi of Japan have claimed the 2014 Nyrstar Port Pirie Tennis International men’s and women’s singles titles on Sunday.
Port Pirie SA 5540, Australia, 3 March 2014 | Tennis Australia
Luke Saville (Cobdogla, SA) and Misa Eguchi (JPN) have claimed the 2014 Nyrstar Port Pirie Tennis International men’s and women’s singles titles in front of a strong crowd at the Port Pirie Tennis Club on Sunday.
In the much anticipated men’s final South Australian Saville took on fellow Australian youngster Jordan Thompson (NSW).
Saville got out of the blocks quickly with an early break and did not look back, taking the first set 6-2. Saville broke again early in the second set and lead 3-1 before Thompson landed awkwardly from an overhead smash and was forced to retire.
It was Saville’s fourth Futures title and his first in South Australia. The win gives him valuable ranking points as he works his way into another important year in his development with the aim of reaching the world’s top 200 by the end of 2014.
“Never want to win a title by a w/o but never the less it has been a big couple of weeks for me.. Looking forward to Mildura next week #grass,” Saville tweeted following the final.
Last week, the 20-year-old Saville reached the final of another Pro Tour event at the City of Onkaparinga Tennis International.
Meanwhile, top women’s seed Eguchi defeated countrywoman and second seed Hiroko Kuwata in the final in what was an impressive display of aggressive tennis played in near perfect conditions.
Eguchi was rarely troubled by Kuwata, taking out the match in less than one hour with a convincing 6-1 6-2 score line.
It was the second ITF title of the year for Eguchi after she won the $50,000 McDonald’s Burnie Tennis International in January and sets her up for a strong 2014 season.