11 July 2012 | Tennis Queensland

179 players from Australia and Asia Pacific travelled to Brisbane to the 2012 Plexipave Queensland Open. The event is the biggest Australian Money Tournament on the Queensland calendar and again attracted a fantastic field.

The event was held at the Queensland Tennis Centre with all finals completed on Pat Rafter Arena. Ellen Perez (NSW) won an enthralling women’s final 6-7 (6) 7-6 (7) 6-4 over Brisbane local Lyann Hoang. The final was a great display of aggressive play from the baseline with Hoang saving five match points in the third set before Perez sealed the deal after a long game on the Hoang serve. The win stretched Perez’s winning streak to ten matches after she also took out the Griffith University Platinum AMT immediately before the Plexipave Queensland Open.

Robert Smeets ensured the men’s trophy stayed in Queensland following a comprehensive victory over Victorian Lewis Miles. Smeets was in great form the entire tournament not dropping a set in any of his four matches. He clinched the final 6-3 6-0 in just over an hour. It was a great effort for Miles to reach the final unseeded, knocking out seeded players Nick Lindahl (NSW), Logan Mackenzie (NZ) and Scott Puodziunas (QLD) along the way.

In a great moment for the event, the Mal Anderson Perpetual trophy was unveiled for the first time. The trophy will be presented annually to the men’s singles winner in recognition of Mal’s great career and contribution to Queensland tennis. Mal was on hand to present his trophy for the very first time to Robert Smeets. Some of Mal’s achievements in the games are as follows:

–          1957 US Open Singles Champion

–          Australian Davis Cup team 1957-1958 and 1972-1973

–          3 time Grand Slam Doubles Champion

–          Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000

–          Inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2001

–          Tennis  Queensland Life Member

In an all Queensland women’s doubles final, Lyann Hoang/Priscilla Hon defeated Cassie Gramlick/Elizabeth James 3-6 6-3 10-3. Whilst in the men’s doubles Logan Mackenzie (NZ)/Peter Tramacchi (QLD) def Lewis Miles (VIC)/Andrew Poustie (VIC) 6-2 6-1. The 2012 event also saw the re-introduction of the mixed doubles event. In a high quality final, Queensland duo Robert Smeets/Lyann Hoang defeated fellow locals Mark Draper/Ebony Panoho 6-7 6-1 10-8.

Tennis Queensland would like to thank Plexipave Australia for their ongoing support of this great event. It’s certainly growing each and every year. To view the full draws and results please click here http://tournaments.tennis.com.au/sport/tournament.aspx?id=252C4485-447D-45E8-B7D3-14B6DD241B95 . We look forward to seeing everyone back again in 2013!