Photo: Tim HartisSacha Jones (AUS)
Eighth seed Sacha Jones of New Zealand won the inaugural Rock Hill Rocks Open tennis tournament on Sunday, her 19th birthday, defeating Ani Mijacika of Croatia 60 64 in the singles final.
“It was special,” said Jones, who won $2,940 and 50 ranking points in the $25K women’s ITF Pro Circuit event sponsored by the city of Rock Hill. “First time I’ve ever played a match on my birthday.”
Ranked 212 in the WTA Rankings, Jones is New Zealand’s top-ranked women’s tennis player and has now won her last four ITF Pro Circuit events, including three tournaments in Australia over the course of September and October. She also won a $10K event in Brownsville, TX, earlier this year in June.
“Everything is falling into place,” she said at the Rock Hill Tennis Center, where the Rock Hill Rocks Open took place. “I don’t have any particular strength or weakness. I’ve just always been a good competitor”
“My whole family plays tennis,” said Jones, whose brother, G.D. Jones, is ranked 786 in singles on the ATP Rankings. “It was a natural progression for me.”
“I think I’m going to enjoy it (the victory) this evening,” said Jones, a right-hander with a double backhand. “And then get on with the next tournament.”
In the doubles final on Sunday, the top seeded team of Sharon Fichman and Anna Tatishvili defeated Wild Card entrants Lauren Albanese and Jamie Hampton 76(5) 46 [10-3].
Edited from article kindly submitted by Tim Hartis