Talent stars at the All Stars tournament

The Open Mens Singles had extremely strong fields. In the Tier 1 Final, country New South Wales player Liam O’Neil defeated Melbourne’s Yuri Mijic 6/3, 6/2 in a match that was full off class and a great spectacle to watch.

Liam is only 17 and he has really stamped himself as a potential star on the tournament circuit.

The Ladies Singles had some excellent players. Working their way to the final was the experienced Louise Fields from Melbourne and the young star Isabella Crossman from Echuca.

On the eve of the final Isabella received a Wild Card into the Qualifying of the Junior Singles for the Australian Open. This was an opportunity not to be missed for Isabella. Therefore, Louise was declared the Ladies Champion.

The junior points events consisted of 12/u, 14/u and 16/u and these also have strong numbers with many elite players hitting the court.

The club was very fortunate to host many past or current players that have finished in the top few players in national championships.

It is great to see local juniors Viktor Lairson, Oliver Mathews, Harry Wren, Lachlan Wren, Xavier Chessells, Tess Bassett, Liam Williams and Jack Bassett entering this event. Playing better players is challenging and the club was pleased they put their hand up to take the opportunity.

New to tournament tennis, Oliver Mathews showed he is a star in the making with a strong performance in the 10/u singles where he played well. Oliver did a fantastic job in the 10/u doubles where he paired with a Melbourne player to finish runners up.

Viktor Lairson had two fantastic 12/u singles matches where he played some excellent tennis against some slightly stronger opponents.

Viktor is relatively new to the sport and his rapid development will soon see him challenging his parents for the number one player in their house.

The scribe’s clear highlight of the entire tournament was the 12/u Boys Doubles Final. It was fantastic to see locals Xavier Chessells and Lachlan Wren taking on Harry Wren and Torquay’s Rex Kadera in an epic encounter.

The match lasted just over two hours before Xavier and Lachlan were the winners 7/5, 7/6. The smiles on all of the boys faces during the trophy presentation was fantastic.

Xavier, Lachlan and Harry all played some excellent tennis in their singles matches which was great to see.

Tess Bassett had a wonderful tournament. In the 12/u section she won her round robin pool to make it through to the Final against Hazel Kadera from Torquay. She played well in the final before succumbing to her opponent in a tough match.

Tess paired with Hazel in the 12/u Doubles where they defeated all other pairings in the round robin format to be declared the winners.

Liam Williams and Jack Bassett teamed together to claim the 16/u Doubles title. After four very tight matches the locals won their final match in a close Super Tie Breaker to secure first place. It was great to see two great mates enjoying their tennis at this level.

Liam also has a successful singles campaign. He was runners up in the 16/u Match Play event after a very tight finals match. Jack also played excellent tennis over the three days.

In the 16/u Semi Finals he narrowly lost a Super Tie Breaker to the number 1 seed and eventual winner. In the Open Singles he made the final of the Tier 2 event before being defeated by Wangaratta’s Sam Allen in a fantastic contest.

It was also fantastic to see Mike and Amy Lairson playing in the Open Mixed event. They played very well in a match that last a very long time.

The event was an immense success. All players were in awe of the conditions of the courts with continual complements made.

The club is fortunate to have such diligent groundsman in Warwick Henderson and Rob Payne. Their passion for perfection ensures the courts are the envy of every other club.

The Yarrawonga Lawn Tennis club is extremely grateful to the Yarrawonga Lions who catered for the event. Their volunteers were extremely kind and helpful which assisted to create a terrific atmosphere around the complex.

This event was only made possible with the support of some incredibly generous event sponsors. The Yarrawonga Lawn Tennis Club appreciates this and values their ongoing backing.

This event will be even bigger next year with a majority of players already locking in accommodation for 2023.

Tuesday Mens Tennis

After being inspired by the elite tennis players at the Australian Open, the Tuesday Mens competition returned with the standard of tennis very similar to what is happening at Melbourne Park.

With some away on holidays and a few having to isolate, the fill in list was used effectively and the players appreciated the fill ins lending a hand.

Nadal and Safin played the match of the season with some terrific tennis. At the end of the night the rubber was tied 3 all and captains Mike Lairson and Liam Williams after repeated countbacks could not split the games at 30 apiece which is incredible after 6 sets of tennis.

For Nadal Liam Williams and Brett White won 2 sets and for Safin Matt McLachlan and James Loughnan had a pair of wins.

Lendl and Becker had many tight tussles in the early 1990s. This wasn’t quite the case this week with Lendl having a 5 sets to 1 victory.

For Lendl, Wei Wong and Jason Bassett won all their sets whilst Ben Cope and Jim Zanin had 2 wins. Becker fought it out to the end with Noel Thomas and Jack James claiming the final set of the night.

Wawrinka toppled the ladder leader Agassi 4 to 2, showing the depth of the standard in the competition. Jason Cox was player of the night with 3 wins for the night.

Fill in Ash Wheaton and Trent Head also won 2 matches. Best for Agassi was Jamie Hicks with 2 wins.

Wilander had a strong 5 to 1 win over Sampras. For the victors Michael Ibbott and Michael Millss played well all night to win all of their matches.

Fill in Fraser Bennett and Macca White each won 2 of their sets. For Sampras fill ins Grant Lewis and Neville Page were the sole winners after winning a very tight tie breaker.

Djokovic and Korda had a great night of even tennis with the sets shared 3 all. On games Djokovic were a little stronger to claim the night 31 to 23.

Djokovic’s Lee Fraser was best on court winning each of his sets in a strong display. For Korda, fill ins Josh Buerckner and Will Cooper supported regular star Troy Sneddon in winning 2 matches each.

In the final match of the night Federer had a 5 sets to 1 win over Johansson. For Federer Pete Thomas and Simon DeOleveira both won 3 sets whilst Nick Mullavey and John Wright won 2 matches.

In the final match of the evening, Johansson’s Shane Forge and Brett Lawrence won in 7/6 tie breaker.

At the conclusion of round 7 the ladder is Djokovic 39, Agassi 38, Lendl 35, Wilander 33, Nadal 32, Korda 31, Safin 29, Sampras 27, Wawrinka 25, Federer 24, Courier 21, Johansson 21, Becker 16.

Wilby Tennis Association

After an extended hiatus for the festive season the Wilby Tennis Association resumes this weekend. Whilst a few may be rusty it will be great to be back on court having a hit.

On Friday night Burramine will host Savernake, Mulwala Maroon will play Tungamah Green and Tungamah Gold will host Telford. On Saturday Wilby will take on Mulwala Gold.