Alistair Hunt continued his stranglehold over James Greenhalgh by scoring a fourth win over his Davis Cup partner in the 2000-01 season, this time in the Auckland tennis championships final at Stanley St last night.
Greenhalgh quickly went to a 5-2 lead in the men's final - moved indoors because of
rain - after breaking Hunt's serve in the fourth game.
Strangely, Hunt did not serve any aces in the first set and only four in the second.
Hunt was able to stage a comeback by breaking Greenhalgh's serve and eventually forcing a tiebreak.
The tiebreak had both players working each other around the court and trying to take advantage of their serves, and was finally won by Hunt 13-11.
In the second set, the 28-year-old showed more authority with his serve-and-volley game as he raced away to win 7-6 (13-11), 6-3.
By some bizarre planning, Hunt is seeded only sixth for the Residential Championships starting today at the North Harbour Tennis Centre. He is behind Greenhalgh, Lee Radovanovich, Robert Cheyne, Danny Willman and Mark Thompson.
"The standard of the [Auckland] tournament has been really good from the first round, which is good for a change. I've been unbeaten this season, but it doesn't really matter where I'm seeded," Hunt said.
In the women's final, Ilke Gers cemented her place as the player to beat in the Residentials, and enhanced her prospects of getting a wildcard into the main draw of the ASB Classic, by easily dispatching third-seed Tracey O'Connor.
The international experience of Gers showed through, as did her serve, and she won 6-1, 6-2.
The 19-year-old, who was born in South Africa, has hit form since she returned from playing events in Australia and has improved in her WTA ranking to 452nd in singles.
"I served terrible while overseas, but have worked on it since I came back and it has seemed to come right.
"This win will give me a lot of confidence from now on," Gers said.
She is the second seed in the Residential draw, behind Leanne Baker.
