Western Australia’s Casey Dellacqua and Queensland’s Ben Mitchell were yesterday crowned the 2011 Cliffs Esperance Tennis International Champions.
After a busy week of top tier tennis action, Sunday marked the Men’s and Women’s Singles Final.
Following a slight rain delay, the number one seed, Ben Mitchell (QLD) took on the number 2 seed Matt Reid (NSW) on court one. Coming into the match, Mitchell was the front runner after knocking out local favourite, Brydan Klein in the Semi-Finals the previous day.
He had a solid build up to the tournament winning his first three matches in straight sets. He opened his finals bound campaign with a win over China’s Peng Gao 6-1 6-3, before beating Scott Puodziunas 6-4 6-1. Mitchell then edged out the number 6 seed Jose Statham 7-6 7-6 before knocking out WA’s Brydan Klein in 3 sets 6-2 4-6 6-2 to advance to the final.
Reid had come off 3 consecutive 3 set marathon battles to pave his way to the final. He initially took an easy win over Calum Puttergill in the opening round, before surviving a 3 set thriller against Gavin Van Peperzeel 6-4 6-7 6-3. Matt was then forced to play 2 more consecutive 3 set epics, knocking Japan’s Kento Takeuchi out 6-4 2-6 6-2 before conquering Issac Frost 4-6 6-4 7-5.
Much to Mitchell’s delight, this is where the 3 set matches ceased. The Queenslander simply outclassed Reid, smashing forehands deep into the court grazing the baseline time and time again, taking the 1st set 6-1. In the second set Reid seemed to settle and was much more competitive scrambling across the court to return Mitchell’s deafening serve.
The Sydney sider however began to fade and Mitchell was able to capitalise and attack. Claiming the championship in straight sets 6-1 6-4.
“I was really stoked to have a win in Esperance.” Mitchell said.
I’ve been playing some good tennis and have reached a few finals, so to have a win here was a great result for me. It’s strange to come into the court as the number one seed. It’s great for a bit of confidence, but can also create more pressure as you start to build expectations.”
Next up was the Women’s Final. [2] Olivia Rogowska (VIC) vs. [3] Casey Dellacqua (WA). The pair took out the doubles Final together on Friday, were each other’s warm up partners, travel together and share the same coach – so the build up to the 2 peas’ in a pod to face off in the final was a heavy build up.
Olivia had a smooth lead up to the finals, winning in straight sets the whole way through. In the first round, she pushed past Kai-Lin Zhang 6-3 6-2, before outing New South Wales Monique Adamczak 6-1 6-3. She managed to claim victory against Turkish star Pemra Ozgen before cruising past USA’s Lina Litvak in the Semi’s 6-0 6-1.
Dellacqua cruised through the first round matches beating China’s Hao Ten Cheng 6-3 6-1 in the opening round, Emelyn Starr 6-3 6-2 before knocking off China’s Yi-Fan Xu in the quarterfinals 6-4 6-2. Dellacqua then came from a set down to knock out Sacha Jones the number one seed and resilient opponent 2-6 6-4 6-2.
Despite Rogowska sailing through to the finals in straight sets, the final was another story. Dellacqua took control from the opening point and didn’t allow Rogowska into the game throughout the entire match. Dellacqua closed the number 2 seed down in straight sets 6-2 6-1.
“Today was probably the best match I’ve played all week. Liv’s always a really tough competitor so I was lucky to get the goods today.” Dellacqua said after her match.
“It’s been great to play in front of a really supportive crowd. My uncle and aunty live down here and my dad and his girlfriend drove down to watch me play, so it’s really special to have that in my home state. I’m looking forward to see how I go in Kalgoorlie next week.”
With the Pro Tour wrapped up in Esperance it will now shift to Kalgoorlie for the Goldfields St Ives Tennis International. The Women’s Qualifying will conclude today with Main Draw kicking off tomorrow.
The Cliffs Esperance Tennis International is part of the 2011–2012 Australian Pro Tour, a series of professional tennis events that bridge junior events and the ATP/WTA Tour, providing an opportunity for players to earn their first world ranking points.
For more information about the Cliffs Esperance Tennis International, the 2011– 2012 Australian Pro Tour, Tennis Australia or the players, visit www.tennis.com.au. For more information on the ITF Pro circuit visit www.itftennis.com.
For further media information please contact:
Aly de Souza, Tennis West, Tel: 0432 393 517
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