The final ITF events in Australia for 2022 came to a close on Sunday evening at Traralgon with a host of locals signing off for the year in style.
Melbournian Omar Jasika capped off his remarkable return to the pro circuit in 2022 by hoisting his fifth singles title for the year.
Jasika was in ominous form all week and dropped just two sets for the entire tournament before punching in a commanding 6-0, 6-2 win over Dayne Kelly in the final.
Jasika has played a monumental amount of matches in 2022 as he aims to make up for lost time in recent years. The victory sees Jasika’s win/loss record improve to an impressive 70/23 in 2022.
As a result of his efforts this year, Jasika will move jump back inside the ATP’s top 240 for the first time in five years and likely eclipse his previous career-high ranking of 239.
On the doubles court, it was a second consecutive Traralgon title for Aussies Jeremy Beale and James Frawley.
The duo overcame second seeds Calum Puttergill and Matthew Romios 6-3, 6-2 in just 59 minutes.
The victory caps off a brilliant fortnight for Beale and Frawley who didn’t drop a single set in their consecutive title runs.
It’s Frawley’s sixth title of the season while Beale picked up his third.
On the women’s side of things, Destanee Aiava returned to the winners’ list for the first time since 2019 by taking out the women’s singles title at Traralgon.
Aiava picked up her fifth career ITF title after defeating fellow Aussie Lizette Cabrera 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4 in a battle lasting over two hours.
The win is a massive boost for Aiava who had lost the previous five finals she played in since her last triumph in Canberra back in 2019.
Aiava will now jump back into the top 400 in the WTA singles rankings following a productive few weeks in Traralgon.
The party didn’t stop there for Aiava who also won the doubles title in Traralgon alongside New Zealander Katherine Westbury.
The pair put in a dominant display all week, culminating in a 6-1, 4-6, 10-5 victory over top seeds Ankita Raina and Priska Nugroho in an hour and 15 minutes.
It’s Aiava’s fifth career ITF doubles title and her second for 2022.
Elsewhere
Bernard Tomic is back in title town after taking out the ITF M15K in Santo Domingo in the early hours of Monday morning.
The former No. 17 in the world capped off a great week in the Dominican Republic by defeating Barbadian Darian King 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in a final lasting two hours and 38 minutes.
It’s Tomic’s third ITF title of the season after picking up his previous two consecutively in Mexico back in August and September.
The Aussie now languishes just outside of the ATP’s top 500 in the world as he aims to get his career back on track again.
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