11 June 2014 | Tennis Tasmania

After 3 days of scintillating tennis at the picturesque Burnie Tennis Club, the inaugural Burnie Open AMT Silver/JT Bronze is in the books. After a dreary start that forced organisers to delay the opening morning, the skies brightened, allowing some high quality tennis throughout. With an impressive attendance of over 100 players in Burnie, the local players didn’t disappoint, with Tasmanians featuring predominately on Finals Day.

A few months before jetting off to undertake a tennis scholarship in Kentucky, America, 18-year old Bradley Dunn fought through back-to-back 3 set battles en route to an impressive Men’s Open title. Remarkably for the talented Dunn, this was his first Australian Money Tournament (AMT) title providing the perfect platform for his collegiate career. It wasn’t all smooth sailing though, as Dunn had to battle through an array of quality players to claim the title. Impressively, Dunn battled past great opposition in Robert Easther and Ken Ho after dropping the opening set in both encounters. It seemed that falling behind only further ignited his play, as Dunn claimed the next 2 sets in a relatively comfortable fashion. Waiting in the Final for Dunn was another giant-killer in Daniel Groom. In a see-sawing first set, Dunn was able to eke out a tense tie-break before coasting in the second set to claim his inaugural title.

In the Women’s singles, rising star Catherine Krueger was made to work hard in patches before steamrolling her opponents, not dropping a set on the way to her second title in Tasmania this year. Krueger faced her biggest challenge in the semi-final stage against Victorian Rani Goodland, during a tense first set. After squeaking through an opening set tie-break, Krueger dominated the second set and secured the match and a place in the Final. In the other semi, Vanessa Dobson was having her own battle against Jessica Fowler. After dropping the first set, Dobson was able to claim the next two sets in thrilling fashion and in so advancing to the Final. Krueger was too much for Dobson in the Final, using her power and grace to claim a straight-sets win in a high-quality affair. Krueger, who is Tasmanian’s highest ranked female tennis player (#73), has had a stellar year to date coming off the back of some impressive victories in ITF events. Krueger is currently getting set for trips to NSW and QLD ahead of Platinum level events.

To kick off the junior events, Eliane Fader and Jessica Fowler provided one of the most entertaining sets on the year during their marathon first set of the 16/u girls final. Remarkably, Fowler took the first set tie-break 17-15 before Fader was able to regroup and claim the next two sets to claim the title. On the boys side, Daniel Groom claimed the title in unfortunate circumstances with Matthew Harris unable to contest the final. Groom stays perfect on the year in all junior events in Tasmania.

In the 14/u events the interstate flavor reigned supreme, with Michaella Majdan edging past Olivia Maskell in three tight sets. In the all-Victorian boys Final it was second-seeded David Abfalter who proved too strong for Jamieson Nathan in a straight sets dispatch.

In 12/u action, Samuel Whitehead and Georgina Fish both overcame their opponents with ease, dropping only a handful of games on their way to the titles. No stranger to the winners circle, Fish and Whitehead have combined brilliantly to claim 6 titles on the year (three each).

Lastly, in the 10/u future stars event, it was Jake Elmer outlasting Harry Bayles in the green-ball event. Elmer has been perfect on the year in 10/u events with some impressive 12/u results to show his hard work and enthusiasm.

To view all the draws and results please click here.

A big thanks to all tournament organisers and officials for once again completing a very successful and enjoyable event for all players and parents involved. The Burnie Tennis Club is a world-class venue and provides the perfect backdrop to a tremendous event. See you all soon!