A MUCH-needed break has refreshed Wagga tennis sensation Kaitlin Staines, paving the way for the powerfully built teenager to take out Wagga’s Australia Day Open.
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In front of her proud supporters, the remarkable 15-year-old overcame determined Victorian rival Hope Curtis-McDonald to claim victory in the women’s final at the Jim Elphick Tennis Centre on Sunday.
The final marked the second time Staines has met the Shepparton-based teenager in a tournament decider, with Curtis-McDonald prevailing in the pair’s first encounter in Griffith three years ago.
“It’s good to get one back from her today (yesterday),” Staines said.
The anticipated women’s final, played between the tournament’s top seeds, lived up to expectations and provided plenty of excitement for spectators.
Staines claimed the first set 7-6 after Curtis-McDonald pushed her younger opponent to a nail-biting tie-breaker.
“The first set was played at a very high standard,” tournament director John Ferguson said.
“It was a very even first set.
“There were at least two service breaks and it went through to six games all.
“Kate eventually won the tie-breaker convincingly seven-nil.”
Her overwhelming victory in the tie-breaker gave Staines the boast in confidence she needed to dominate the second set.
Staines breezed through the second set to claim a 7-6 6-1 victory.
While giving full credit to the pair for the grit and resolve they displayed during the final, Ferguson conceded yesterday’s decider did not showcase Staines at her best.
“I think she probably played her best tennis of the tournament in a quarter final against Nicole Karis from Sydney. She is a coach at Newington College,” he said.
“Nicole is a very well-performed player and they played out a very hard final that lasted two hours.
“In the end it was Kate’s fitness that got her there.”
The grand final win has helped Staines put her 2015 campaign on course, with the Riverina tennis ace now eying success at the upcoming Canberra Gold Opens Tournament.
“I’m also looking to head back overseas to play this year. Probably around Europe, and I’d say I will head back to Fiji to the same tournament I played in last year,” Staines revealed.
The talented tennis player dedicates three to four hours a day to training, both on and off the court, in a bid to achieve her sporting ambitions.
Her commitment to training helped her back up yesterday’s women’s singles win with a victory alongside her brother Joshua in the mixed doubles decider a short time later.
In what is sure to be a sporting rarity, Staines faced Curtis-McDonald for a second grand final dual in a matter of hours when the talented Wagga siblings lined up against the 19-year-old and her brother James.