Bendigo, 12 November 2017 | David Packman

Olivia Rogowska has been defeated in the Bendigo Tennis International final on Sunday, going down to teenage Slovenian Tamara Zidansek 5-7 6-1 6-0.

After a tough three-set win over Abigail Tere-Apisah of Papua New Guinea in the semifinal, the Victorian was gallantly early, but put up little resistance after the opening set as the fourth-seed raced away to take the title in just over 90 minutes.

Despite the loss, Rogowska, Australia’s sixth-ranked woman, has enjoyed a remarkable run of form during the Australian Pro Tour, the Bendigo final only her third loss as she claimed titles in Penrith, Cairns and Canberra. She was also a semifinalist in Brisbane.

Her success recently earned her a main draw wildcard to Australian Open 2018 as the best-performed Australian player at the $60,000 Canberra and Bendigo ITF tournaments.

“Coming into the Pro Tour, I really wanted to make sure I was being as positive as possible, fight as hard as I could and not dwell too much on results,” she said. “With that kind of mental mindset I think I played myself into some really good form and now I’m just feeling really confident.

“My self-belief is really high at the moment, it’s been a really great couple of months, I’m over the moon.”

In making the Bendigo final, Rogowska solidified a jump of over 100 ranking places since the start of the Australian Pro Tour, and is now projected to be inside the world’s top 170 players. The 26-year-old held a career-high of world No.102 in August, 2014.

Aussies Alison Bai and Zoe Hives won the doubles title in Bendigo after the unseeded duo came from a set behind to upset the top seeds, Arina Rodionova and her American partner Asia Muhammad, 4-6 6-4 [10-8].

Live scores of all Australian Pro Tour events are available through www.tennis.com.au/protour/scores and for a live stream of selected events visit www.tennis.com.au/protour.