He might be ranked No 44 in the world in doubles, but Kiwi tennis professional Michael Venus still packs a punch in singles as he defended his New Zealand tennis championships title and earned a singles main draw wildcard into next month's ASB Classic.
Venus beat fellow Davis Cup playerand 43rd-ranked doubles player Artem Sitak 6-1 6-4 in an hour of hard-hitting tennis to win the national title and the coveted wildcard.
In January, Venus used the wildcard to great effect by winning his first round singles at the then Heineken Open before falling in the second round and setting up a top year, albeit mainly in doubles.
In today's final against Sitak, he proved too powerful as his opponent chipped and charged to the net and Venus blasted some powerful passing shots.
"It feels good," Venus said. "I'm just excited to have the wildcard for the ASB Classic. It's an honour to win the tournament and to be on the trophy with some great names on it and to know I've earned the wildcard. I won the first set pretty comfortable and managed to stay focused in the second set."
The women's final had one of the youngest winners for nearly a decade as 17-year-old Rosie Cheng, who recently finished high school at Westlake Girls in Auckland, beat top seed Sacha Jones 7-5 6-0.
Cheng earned herself a singles qualifying wildcard to the ASB Classic and put Jones, who is a four-time winner, under considerable pressure.
"It kinda makes me feel like all of the hard work has been worth it and I'm finally winning stuff," said Cheng, who is likely to go to the US on a scholarship to a University in 2016. "It was a really tough first set, she pushed me really hard. I think there were some turning points, but I got all the important points that counted."
Cheng also won the women's doubles title while teaming up with Jones to beat Leela Beattie and Jo Carswell 6-2 6-2. The victory gives Cheng and Jones a main doubles draw wildcard into the ASB Classic.
