Two South Australians have made their way through to the girls’ 18/u Australian Championships, with 15-year-old Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz defeating fourth seed Annerly Poulos to advance to the final, where she will meet fellow South Australian, Natasha Russell.
Kempenaers-Pocz, a wildcard into the event, is yet to drop a set in five matches — her latest result a 6-3 6-2 domination of Poulos.
This time last year, the South Australian was contesting the 14/u final at the December Showdown.
“I feel like I’m just hitting the ball very well, staying composed, staying strong and (playing) a lot better than last year,” she told tennis.com.au.
“I think (the difference this year) is my composure. I’m not giving in or giving up and I just keep going and fighting for every point.
“(The final is) just a match. I’m putting no pressure on myself and just trying to play as well as I can.”
There she will meet Russell, a three-set winner over Taylah Lawless.
Russell finished second in Group A behind Kempenaers-Pocz with two wins and one loss, advancing to the quarterfinal stage where she beat Jasmine Adams on Thursday before stopping Lawless.
“I haven’t had the best lead in to this tournament and I didn’t expect to really do that well here, so I was just really proud of myself that I got through that with an injury and a battle in the head kind of thing,” she explained, referring to her emotional reaction following the 4-6 6-3 6-3 victory.
“I was zoning out a lot. Towards the end when it got to 2-all (in the third set) I was really well focused and was able to battle through it better than her.
“I’m just really happy with myself that I’ve made it so far. I always hope to do the best I can and I’ve done really well this tournament, so I’m just really happy.”
Latest
SA