Ramona eyes semi-final berth
GEELONG players experienced mixed results on day three of the Victorian Grasscourt Championships yesterday, with just one player still in contention to get through to the semi-final stage at Geelong Lawn Tennis Club.
Third seed Ramona Mataruga was 3-0 up in the second set against qualifier Alana Repanich after winning the first, but heavy rain caused officials to postpone play until this morning.
Should Mataruga advance to the semi-final, she will aim to become the first Geelong player since 2015 to reach a main draw final, when Adam Lasky fell to grass court specialist Daniel Byrnes.
Fellow locals Hope CurtisMcDonald and Amy Stephens were both knocked out in the first round, with Curtis-McDonald falling to rising Geelong star Olivia Ryan.
The two left-handers displayed plenty of flair on the grass but despite Ryan’s strong baseline play and work at the net prevailing in the first round clash, the soon-to-be American college player bowed out 2-6 3-6 in the quarterfinal to Jasmin Starr, who had upset second seed Binasa Beslagic in the opening round.
In the men’s draw, wildcard Lasky fought bravely against top seed Jeremy Beale and took the first set from the big serving left-hander but went down in a tie-breaker in the third.
Past champion Matthew Hicks suffered a similar fate, going down in a nail biter against Chanchai SooktonEng, but Byrnes, who earned a wildcard entry into the main draw and is aiming to win a fifth title in six years, remains alive after wins over former finalist Lewis Miles and second seed Lucas Vuradin.
In the doubles, Lasky and teammate Ry Davies made it through to the men’s semifinal, while Mataruga and Geelong veteran Carolyn McGann will square off against Stevens and Starr for a spot in the women’s final this afternoon.
Mataruga recommences at 8.30am, with finals to be played no earlier than 11.30am.