Records On The Line At NZ Tennis Championships

There’s plenty on the line for all finalists in the finals of the 2019 Wellington Open NZ Tennis Championships at the Renouf Tennis Centre.

Men’s double-defending champ, Finn Tearney is aiming  to become the first man to win three-in-a-row at the NZ Championships for over 30 years when he plays second seed Ajeet Rai, while women’s top seed Paige Hourigan is targeting her first title after being a finalist on three previous occasions.

Success for Tearney would mean he would be the first male to win three consecutive since Kelly Evernden 1985-87. If his finals opponent, Rai was to win it would be his first title.

Tearney had a straight set win over Macsen Sisam in the quarter-finals and then defeated Alex Klintcharov, also in straight sets in the semis. For Taranaki’s Rai it was a win over Canterbury’s Connor Heap in three sets in the quarters and then a more straightforward win over KP Pannu in the semis.

The women’s final has intrigue with current New Zealand women’s No.1 Hourigan, 22 having taken a break from the game for a month or two after a rough year, including her father passing away. She’s back on the court and taking on Wellington’s Kelly Southwood, who had taken time away from the game after completing her scholarship at Auburn University in Alabama and working in the corporate world.

Southwood, 25 is now keen on having a go at the pro tour and earning a share of the $12,000 prizemoney and a possible wildcard into ITF events next year would go a long way to helping her out.

For Whanganui’s Hourigan making the final was a little tougher than expected as she struggled to overcome junior, Elyse Tse in the quarter-finals in three sets, but then easily despatched Marlborough’s Jade Otway in the semis.

“Elyse she played really, really well. I hadn’t played for two or three months now. The first set went well and I guess you lose your focus as I hadn’t played that much. The semifinal went well and hopefully the final will go well too,” said Hourigan.

“I had a few family things going on and I just decided to stop playing for a while and wasn’t really loving tennis anymore, but definitely loving tennis again now and back on track.”

The finals will be held from 1.30pm Sunday at the Renouf Tennis Centre in Wellington.