The Liston Seagulls from Victoria and the South Australian Flagstaff Freighters were crowned the inaugural Asia-Pacific Tennis League (ATL) champions at Melbourne Park yesterday.
In front of a fired-up crowd, the top two performing teams in the conference rounds proved too strong for their opponents.
In what many consider the strongest club league seen in Australia, the cream rose to the top with the Seagulls defeating ATP Sydney 4-2 in the men’s competition and the Freighters defeating the Asia-Pacific Institute Steelers 3-1 in the women’s.
However, the traffic was not all one-way with many of the matches coming down to one or two points.
The western suburbs team from Liston beat three highly-fancied teams from around the region with the win earned through years of preparation.
“To win an ATL after five years of hard work is a sensational outcome and all involved in this journey should be very proud,” said Gary Clark, President of the Liston Tennis Club.
“After being in the wilderness for 40 years it is great to see a team from the western suburbs make state grade tennis and go on to win an ATL Championship.”
The only singles win for Sydney came off the racquet of Matthew Barton who defeated Rubin Statham in the third set and on the deciding point for both players.
For the women, it was the team from the southern suburbs of Adelaide that beat the region’s best. The Flagstaff Freighters were the first team to arrive at Melbourne Park and proved that preparation and a cohesive team environment are key ingredients to success in the ATL.
The number one match in the women’s final proved to be the most entertaining with Monique Adamczak defeating an in-form Bojana Bobosic 4-3 in the decisive set. The match came down to the final point at 4-4 in the third set tiebreak, once again proving the competitive environment that the ATL format has been able to generate.
ATL Grand Final Results
Men
Liston Seagulls (VIC) 4-10-46 defeated ATP Sydney (NSW) 2-5-41
Sam Groth defeated Adam Feeney 4-2 4-3 (3)
Matt Reid defeated Greg Jones 4-2 0-4 4-3 (3)
Rubin Statham lost to Matthew Barton 4-3 (4) 2-4 4-3 (4)
James Lemke defeated Nick Lindahl 4-3 (1) 4-3 (4)
Reid/Groth lost to Jones/Barton 4-1 1-4 6-10
Statham/Lemke defeated Feeney/Henry 4-2 4-3
Women
Flagstaff Freighters (SA) 3-7-32 defeated Asia-Pacific Institute Steelers 1-2-22
Bojana Bobosic lost to Monique Adamczak 1-4 4-2 3-4 (4)
Viktorija Rajicic defeated Stephanie Bengson 4-3 (2) 4-2
Karolina Wlodarczak defeated Julia Moriarty 4-1 4-1
Brooke Reicshbeth lost to Angee Svinos 4-3 (0) 4-2
Final ATL Standings:
Men 1st Liston Seagulls (VIC)
2nd ATP Sydney (NSW)
3rd Brisbane Chargers (QLD)
4th NZ Kauris (NZ)
5th WA Giants (WA)
6th Kooyong Classics (VIC)
7th Glenlea Gators (SA)
8th Pacific Oceania Dolphins (Oceania)
Women
1st Flagstaff Freighters (SA)
2nd Asia-Pacific Institute Steelers (NSW)
3rd NZ Tuis (NZ) 4th WA Giants (WA)
5th Kooyong Classics (VIC)
6th Canberra Velocity (ACT)
7th Shaw Park Sharks (QLD)
8th Beenleigh Blaze (QLD)
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