It’s all over in Papamoa for another year, with Talia Gibson beating Ivana Popovic 6-3, 6-4 in the women’s singles final and Matthew Dellavedova completing a wonderful two weeks by adding the men’s title to the one he won in Wellington. This time it was a 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory over Jacob Bradshaw, who he beat in the semi-final last week.
Because of our lack of international tournaments below WTA/ATP 250 level, the inaugural staging of this event last year was the first ITF tournament I had ever been to, and it’s fantastic to hear the players say how much they love it. The organisation is simply terrific, and Bradshaw mentioned in his speech that he thinks it’s the best ITF event that he’s ever attended.
He’s not alone in those sentiments, as several other players said exactly the same, and hopefully the incredibly positive feedback will confirm to the ITF that their projected extra tournaments here next year (two at the end of the summer, and two indoors in July) will be well worthwhile.
You only have to look at the number of new Kiwi faces who popped out of the woodwork to play their first international event(s) in these last two weeks to realise that all they need is an opportunity to play at home as a stepping stone to a possible international career.