Tennis Centre Court Series Wrap up
Henning and SA doubles pair make clean sweep at Centre Court Series
South African Phillip Henning, the number one seed, claimed a hat-trick of men’s singles titles at the Curro Centre Court Series at Curro Hillcrest on Sunday, whilst compatriots Luc Koenig and Devon Badenhorst, seeded third, reached the same heights in the men’s doubles.
Due to rain the previous day, Henning had a challenging day on court, having to finish his semi-final singles clash against Badenhorst before meeting qualifier and fellow South African Marc van der Merwe in the final, followed by the men’s doubles final where he was joined by his brother Gerard Henning.
Henning triumphed 6-3, 6-3 against Van der Merwe in a match that saw numerous service breaks in both sets as each player battled to gain the ascendancy and convert their advantage. In the end, it favoured Henning in an encounter characterised by some brutal yet majestic baseline hitting as both players powered the ball around the court.
“I’ve had an unreal three weeks and to win each time is the stuff of dreams,” said Henning. “My goal is to work on securing good ranking points going forward, and credit to Marc for a great final. Despite the scoreline, he made me work hard, and as a qualifier he has been terrific – it is only a matter of time before he wins a series.”
Van der Merwe, who is Henning’s practice partner, was more than pleased with his effort in the final week of the tournament. “Phillip is a big player, and I was too hesitant in going forward. I should have attacked the net more and applied more pressure as his movement and court coverage is incredible,” he said. “I will be back though for another crack at the win.”
The women’s singles final was an all-Russian affair, with last week’s beaten finalist and number two seed Kira Pavlova meeting country woman Polina Leykina, who had knocked out last week’s women’s champion and number one seed Stephanie Judith Visscher from the Netherlands in the semi-final.
It was a gruelling encounter which went on for two and a half hours before Pavlova went one better to take the honours 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 against a determined opponent who slowed the game down at times by playing the ball high over the net and using low, sliced shots to wear down her opponent. There were even some underhand serves thrown in by Leykina, but credit to Pavlova for pulling it together to come back from 0-2 in the deciding set after looking beaten, tired, and frustrated in the second.
“It was tough and Polina brings a unique style to the game. I was battling in the second set but wanted to go one step better than last week,” said Pavlova.
Although beaten, Polina was upbeat and happy to have earned the runner-up cheque. “To get to the final is special and takes determination, and although I lost, it was a tough match and I was happy to make the final and give it my best effort,” she said.
Koenig and Badenhorst made it three from three men’s doubles titles with a 6-1, 6-4 win over the Henning brothers, whilst Heike van Vuuren (SA) and Victoria Mulville (USA) took the women’s title 6-4, 6-4 against the number one seeds from France, Astrid Cirotte and Alyssa Reguer.
This brought to an end the three-week Curro Centre Court Series in Hillcrest, and CEO of Curro Holdings, Cobus Loubser, spoke to the importance of creating meaningful pathways for young South Africans to develop both on and off the court. “We believe in creating opportunities for the talent we have and for providing a stepping stone for big and real dreams,” he said. “Some of our past pupils are playing in these series and continuing to play overseas, inspiring those behind them to believe and never give up.”
Curro Centre Court Week 3 Winners
Men’s Singles: Phillip Henning (RSA)
Women’s Singles: Kira Pavlova (RTF)
Men’s Doubles: Luc Koenig (RSA)/Devon Badenhorst (RSA)
Women’s Doubles: Heike van Vuuren (RSA)/Victoria Mulville (USA)
