In a week of firsts, Françoise Abanda and Dalma Galfi both claimed their first titles of the season on the ITF Pro Circuit, while American Jarmere Jenkins won his second title in as many weeks down under, having now won 13 of his last 14 matches.
Abanda Amazes with Comeback Victory in Redding; Galfi Continues to Impress in First Full Year on Tour
In a season compiled of numerous highs and lows, Canadian Francoise Abanda capped off a stunning week at The Ascension Project Women’s $25,000 Challenger, winning her fourth three-set match in as many days over her doubles partner, top seed Sachia Vickery. With only the single break separating the two in the opening set, Abanda knew she had to dig in if she were to have any chance of mounting a comeback.
After fighting valiantly, the Canadian reaped the fruits of her labour, taking her opportunities in the eighth game of the second and third sets, ones that would ultimately prove decisive in a stunning 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. In a season where she has struggled to win back-to-back matches, this victory will do Abanda’s confidence a world of good, and this is only the start for one of Canada’s brightest tennis prospects.
Speaking of bright prospects, former junior world number one Dalma Galfi continued to build on her first full year on the professional tour, claiming her first title of 2016 down under in the Australian city of Toowoomba.
Breaking six times and winning exactly 75% of the points behind her first serve, Galfi’s explosive ground game proved too much for Great Britain’s Katy Dunne, who has seen this script one too many times. In their third meeting in Australia in the last two years, it was the seventh-seeded Hungarian teenager who would come out on top once again, claiming her sixth ITF singles title with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the Brit, having claimed the doubles title with good friend Viktoria Kuzmova just 21 hours prior.
In the other $25,000 final of the weekend, seventh seed Martina Trevisan continued her incredible run of form on the European red clay, outlasting Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, 6-3, 6-4. Since late August, the Italian has gone on a tear, winning 17 of her last 19 matches, which have included a pair of titles on home soil.
Jenkins Continues Inspired Run Down Under with Second Title in as Many Weeks
Jarmere Jenkins just keeps on winning. After making the trip from Canada to Australia four weeks ago, the American has gone 13-1 in singles competition by virtue of reaching three consecutive finals and coming out on top on two of those occasions. This time around, Jenkins traveled to Toowoomba, where he would survive a number of serious threats en route to the showpiece before surviving his biggest test of them all, defeating second seed Blake Mott in two tiebreaks, both of which could have gone either way judging by the early exchanges. After missing more than six months of international competition between August 2015 and May 2016, the University of Virginia alumnus is attempting to rebuild his ranking and confidence, and with great success thus far.
Elsewhere, other winners this week include France’s Albano Olivetti, who won an all-French battle in the showpiece, Hungary’s Attila Balazs, Russia’s Alexander Bublik and Spain’s Ricardo Oleja Lara, who overcame a major second-set letdown to secure the title, 7-5 in the third.
NOTE: This will, unfortunately, be the last instalment of the ITF Roundup until further notice.