07/06/14
Brits on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme won three titles at the Rezidencija Open as Louise Hunt won the women’s singles, partnered Luz Esperanza Merry to victory in the women’s doubles and Richard Green clinched his first ever international quad singles title.
While top seed Hunt had a bye in to the quarter-finals of the women’s singles Merry made a fine start to her challenge, beating higher ranked Turkish player Julie Yildiz 6-3, 6-3. With British No. 3 Hunt and Merry then meeting in the last eight, the more experienced London 2012 Paralympian progressed 6-2, 6-2 before defeating Turkey’s Busra Un 6-1, 6-2 in the semi-finals. Hunt sealed her second singles title in the space of three weeks with another comprehensive 6-3, 6-0 victory over French second seed Pauline Helouin.
Hunt and Merry, second seeds for the women’s doubles, dominated both their semi-final and final, defeating Turkey’s Nursen Sen and Yildiz 6-0, 6-0 before wrapping up the title with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over top seeds Helouin and Janel Manns of Australia.
Green clinched his first ever quad singles main draw title on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour after remaining unbeaten in all four of his round-robin matches against a quartet of Austrian players.
Green eased to 6-0, 6-0 and 6-1, 6-3 wins over Harald Pramendorfer and Claus-Peter Laisacher, respectively, but had a much tougher time against his other two opponents. Green edged out Markus Wallner 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 and crucially came from a set down against Thomas Geierspichler to prevail 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3.
Alfie Hewett’s bid for a second men’s singles title in succession and a third straight doubles title ended in the semi-finals of the singles and the final of the doubles in Zagreb.
The men’s singles started with an all-British contest between Ed Holt and Paul Stewart, with Holt, a member of GB’s bronze medal-winning men’s World Team Cup team in May, prevailing 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. Meantime, Hewett eased to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Wilhelm Groblacher before earning a semi-final berth with a 6-3, 6-3 win over a second Austrian opponent, Karl Stefan. However, Germany’s Steffen Sommerfeld brought the British challenge to an end, beating Holt 6-3, 6-4 and defending champion Hewett 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2 before going on to win the title.
Hewett and Sommerfeld paired up for the men’s doubles and the top seeds secured two comfortable early wins, beating Croatia’s Antonio Arambasic and Ionut Filisan of Romania 6-0, 6-0 and winning their semi-final against Croatia’s Anto Joskic and Jozo Milos 6=1, 6-1.
However, Hewett and Sommerfeld were denied in a thrilling final as Morocco’s Boukartacha Lhaj and Fabian Mazzei of Italy clinched a deciding match tie-break for a 4-6, 6-3, (10-3) victory. After a good start to their challenge and dropping just one game in their opening match, second seeds Holt and Stewart also bowed out to the eventual champions, 6-3, 6-0 in the semi-finals.
Stewart reached the final of the men’s consolation singles after earning a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 win over Italy’s Manuel Zorzetto and easing past Groblacher 6-1, 6-1 to earn one last match against Croatia’s Drazen Miksic. However, after Stewart got off to a fine start in the final Miksic fought back to win the consolation event 0-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Rezidencija Open Final Draws and Results