The Cliffs Esperance Tennis International is on the tail end of the event, with the Main Draw wrapping up their Semi Finals today. The Men kicked proceedings off with the number one seed, Benjamin Mitchell (QLD) taking on WA local (3) Brydan Klein. Mitchell took the early break and managed to close the first set down quickly 6-2.
Klein then regathered and settled into his stroke, launching a number of heavy forehands deep into the court. The pair exchanged service breaks before Mitchell served two double faults in a row giving Klein the 2nd set.
Mitchell broke service the opening game, before Klein levelled it one all in the following game. Klein was notably aggravated and after receiving an infringement code the match gradually slipped away from him. The number one seed marching onto the Final, 6-2 4-6 6-2.
(2) Matt Reid then had an elongated battle on court 4 with the number 7 seed, Issac Frost. Frost took the honours early claiming the first set 6-4. The number 2 then fired and took the next 2 sets 6-2, 7-5.
Tomorrow’s Men’s final will see Ben Mitchell take on Matt Reid on Court 1 at 10am.
“It’s great to see the number one and two seeds face off in the final. Both boys have had a great lead up to the final and the standard of play tomorrow is set to be huge” Jan Budden, Tournament Director said.
The first women’s doubles saw the number two seed, Olivia Rogowska (VIC) take on un-seeded Lina Litvak (USA). Litvak was unfortunately struggling with her movement and wasn’t able to contest the match. Rogowska claiming victory easily in just 42 minutes 6-0 6-1.
In the final match of the day, the number one seed Sacha Jones (NZD) took on crowd favourite, [3] Casey Dellacqua from WA. Jones came out firing and simply overpowered Casey’s defining forehand, ploughing through the 1st set 6-2. Dellacqua then steadied and clawed her way back into the match, grazing either tramline time and time again with her piercing double handed backhand. After they each broke each other’s serve, Dellacqua managed to dig deep and level the scores 4-6 in the second.
With the crowd behind her, Dellacqua lifted and took 2 breaks early in the third to be leading five love. Jones claimed the next two games, but Dellacqua managed to sail through to the finals winning 6-2 4-6 6-2.
Dellacqua will now face off against her hitting partner and the number two seed, Olivia Rogowska in the final tomorrow.
“I was lucky to get through today, Sacha played really well. She really threw me with the opening set, so I’m glad I could regather and pull back the next two sets. I’ll have to be playing my best against Liv (Olivia Rogowska) tomorrow if I’m a chance to get a win. So I’m really looking forward to the contest” Dellacqua said after the match.
Today’s Results
SF [1] Benjamin Mitchell (QLD) def [3] Brydan Klein (WA) 6-2 4-6 6-2
SF [2] Matt Reid (NSW) def [7] Issac Frost (QLD) 4-6 6-2 7-5
SF [2] Olivia Rogowska (VIC) def Lena Litvak (USA) 4-6 6-2 7-5
SF [3] Casey Dellacqua (WA) def [1] Sacha Jones (NZL) 2-6 6-4 6-2
The Cliffs Esperance Tennis International is part of the 2011–2012 Australian Pro Tour, a series of professional tennis events that bridge junior events and the ATP/WTA Tour, providing an opportunity for players to earn their first world ranking points.
For more information about the Cliffs Esperance Tennis International, the 2011– 2012 Australian Pro Tour, Tennis Australia or the players, visit www.tennis.com.au. For more information on the ITF Pro circuit visit www.itftennis.com.
-ends-
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