Lizette Cabrera has won her first professional singles title in three years after claiming the women’s 25K event in Cairns.
The 24-year-old came through a series of battles to lift the trophy, including two hard-fought wins over the weekend.
Cabrera initially downed top seed Priscilla Hon 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4) in a tight semi-final encounter – with Hon having entered the contest on an eight-match winning streak.
In Sunday’s final, the Aussie rallied from a set down to defeat Naiktha Bains 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 – crucially taking all six of her break point opportunities.
The triumph comes at the perfect time for Cabrera who was set for her lowest ranking since 2016 next week.
She will now receive a 50-point boost taking her to an approximate placement of world number 228.
With a large contingent of Aussie women sitting around the same mark, Cabrera puts herself back in the mix for a main draw wildcard spot at the 2023 Australian Open
Elsewhere in the women’s draw, 20-year-old Olivia Gadecki returned to the pro tour for the first time since July and reached the last four, as did last weeks Cairns title winner Priscilla Hon, who fell to Cabrera in a tight semi-final clash.
On the men’s side, there have been just twelve ITF singles events held in Australia this year.
Dane Sweeny has now won six of them, after taking out the 25K event in Cairns.
The 21-year-old Aussie dropped just one set from five matches on his way to another triumph – the sixth of his professional singles career.
In Sunday’s final, Sweeny overcame 19-year-old Philip Sekulic 6-2, 6-3 to lift yet another trophy.
The 21-year-old was ultimately too consistent for the teenager – forcing Sekulic to hit through him to win points, with Sweeny committing few unforced errors.
It was the 19-year-old’s first final for the season and the maiden 25K decider of his career, which should earn him an ATP top 500 debut when this week’s points are added.
For Sweeny, the win continues to boost his ATP ranking – taking him to a career high placement of approximately number 238.
He will now head to Adelaide for an ATP Challenger event starting on October 24, where his level is expected to be tested against the likes of Jordan Thompson, James Duckworth, and Li Tu.
In other men’s singles action in Cairns, 21-year-old Tristan Schoolkate reached his eight singles semi-final of the season.
Cairns Doubles Finals:
A successful week on the doubles side saw Aussies occupy all eight spots in the Cairns finals.
Blake Ellis and Tristan Schoolkate defeated Callum Puttergill and Aaron Addison 6-4, 6-1 to claim the men’s title.
After needing a deciding set tiebreak to reach the final, Ellis and Schoolkate won their third title as a pair after initially winning two in October last year.
On the women’s side, Talia Gibson and Petra Hule overcame Alana Parnaby and Taylah Preston 6-1, 6-4 in Saturday’s final.
The pair of Gibson and Hule teamed up for the first time less than a month ago and have enjoyed instant success.
After triumphing in Darwin three weeks ago, they won eight straight sets this week in Cairns to make it two titles from three events.
Other ITF Results Abroad:
Brandon Walkin reached his eight doubles final of the season at the 25K event in Rodez, France.
The 28-year-old continues to rise up the ATP doubles rankings to approximately number 240.
Meanwhile, Aussies Astra Sharma and Jacob Bradshaw reached ITF singles quarterfinals at 60K and 15K events, respectively.
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