The preliminary round of the Asia-Pacific Tennis League SA Conference concluded last night in dramatic fashion, with the finalists not being determined until the very last rubbers.
Attention now turns to next week’s final at Memorial Drive on Friday November 30th.
Both men’s and women’s finals will take place across the four centre courts of Memorial Drive from 6.30pm.
Entry is free and there will also be a free BBQ and the opportunity to have a photo with the Australian Open trophies that will be on display.
Asia-Pacific Tennis League SA Conference Finals:
| Men’s Final | Glenlea Gators | V | The Drive |
| Womens Final | Flagstaff Freighters | V | Golden Grove Lions |
Read the summary for Round 5 below
Women’s
Flagstaff Freighters v The Drive
Flagstaff Freighters had already wrapped up top spot going into round 5, but completed an unbeaten run with a 5 rubbers to 1 victory.
The Drive’s Melissa Beadman captured an impressive singles win over Brooke Rischbeth, but Flagstaff was simply too strong in all other rubbers.
Freighters coach Jim Chaousis will have a tough task ahead of him this week in deciding the makeup of his team for the final, as he possesses a squad that has been dominant throughout only dropping three rubbers for the entire season.
Freighters won 5-10-45 to 1-2-17
Goodwood Saints v Somerton Park Sharks
The Saint’s girls were well in contention for a spot in the finals going into round 5, and an encounter against the winless Sharks would appear to have things in their favour. Unfortunately for them however, the Somerton team put up their best performance for the year, splitting the rubbers three a piece.
Alex Way had two good wins on the night in the singles over Brooke Milner, then in the double where she paired with Amy Sneath.
The result left the Saints just 2 points adrift of second place, but the young team should be proud of their effort in what has been a very tough league.
Saints won 3-7-36 to 3-5-29
Golden Grove Lions v Gully Subways
Holding onto second place by 5 points going into the last round, the Lions (Lionesses?) could not take this fixture lightly.
Golden Grove’s place in the final was severely threatened when they dropped 3 singles rubbers, with only Katarina Hunia, who has been a standout through the ATL to date, earning a win.
The doubles were split, but Golden Grove were able to hold onto a coveted place in the final by just two points.
Subways won 4-8-37 to 2-5-38
Men’s
Golden Grove Lions v Trinity Titans
In the only tie that did not have a bearing on the Titans finished their ATL campaign with a four rubbers to two win over the Lions.
Trinity took all four singles, but Golden Grove hit back with tie break wins in each doubles rubber.
The Titans had a strong start to the ATL, however unfortunately fell away, but as always were a difficult and respected opponent. Whilst the Golden Grove Lions found life in the ATL difficult after being the last team to form a squad, but were still valiant in their efforts.
Titans won 4-10-50 to 2-4-30
Glenlea Gators v Broadview Tigers
The script could hardly be written better, with first v second in the last round and both still not guaranteed a place in the top two.
Glenlea fielded Luke Saville and Thanasi Kokkinakis for the first time this season, so Broadview’s task suddenly got a whole lot more daunting.
The Tigers had a great match up for Saville though, with Bradley Mousley in at number one. In this match up last year, Brad had a strong win, but this time Saville was businesslike in a 4-2, 4-1 win.
Next up was wunderkind Thanasi Kokkinakis, but he was up against a rampant Matt Langley who was undefeated going into this singles match, and kept that record intact with an enthralling three set win.
From there on in though, Glenlea kicked into gear taking out all remaining rubbers, and the Tigers were bundled out of the top two by the narrowest of margins.
Gators won 5-11-52 to1-3-34
The Drive v Gully Subways
Although five points adrift of second place, The Drive had the benefit of the top two teams playing each other, and also Colin Ebelthite suiting up for his second ATL appearance.
The night did not start as planned with Josh Crowe winning the number one single against Ebelthite in a very close three set encounter. The ever reliable Paul Kramberger and Daniel Crago hit back with wins and with impressive teen Yuya Ito claiming yet another scalp, The Drive were suddenly back on track.
The doubles would be critical to the hopes of The Drive, but with the super-duo of Luke Smith and Colin Ebelthite too strong for Crowe and Sando, and the dynamic Kramberger and Ito pairing doing their job, they claimed a five rubbers to one win and ultimately, second place in the league.
The Drive won 5-11-54 to 1-4-39
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