TENNIS stars from across Australia were made to earn their share of the $10,000 prize pool in the Waverley Tennis Australian Money Tournament at Doveton’s Robinson Reserve over the weekend.
Blustery conditions and quality opposition encountered players for Tuesday’s finals, providing a testing climax to the first Level One tournament to be hosted by Waverley Tennis.
The tournament, sponsored by Berwick’s Central Star Auto Haus, attracted players from throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Endeavour Hills resident Andrew Coelho represented the locals with aplomb, winning the main draw men’s singles and the doubles alongside Marvin Barker.
Kiwi visitor and top seed Dianne Hollands did likewise in the women’s events, breezing through the singles without losing a set for the weekend. Her doubles victory alongside Aussie Rebecca Leahy was more dramatic, with the trans-Tasman pair closing it out 12-10 in the third set.
Waverley Tennis tournament convenor Lyn Gillen hailed the event as a resounding success.
“It was our first time running an AMT event and we were thrilled with the quality of play,” she said. “We’ve already been granted one (tournament) for next year in the same time slot.”
The association is hoping the event – held in conjunction with the Junior Development Series – can become an annual fixture on Melbourne Cup weekend.
