True to tradition, the Zorgfactory Dr. Starring Van Leeuwen. Where Drenthe was still successful last year thanks to Slane’s Max Hawks winning the men’s tournament, it was up to Alicia Ball, playing on behalf of LTC Mabel, to shore up Drenthe’s honor. In the final she beat Ricky de Kooning of Voorburg in three sets.
It was already quite an achievement for Elicia Paul to reach the final of the tournament. The 21-year-old tennis player was allowed to participate in the tournament because she managed to get a wild card.
, Elicia plays in America. The matches you win there do not count in the Dutch ranking, as it is very low with 161st place. That is why it does not qualify for the tournament,” said tournament director Kees van Oostrea.
,, She emailed us asking if she could come and play here. She’s a good player and she comes from the region, so we were ready to play a wild card. It’s good that she’s taking this opportunity.”
Road to the final
The path to the final went smoothly for Paul on paper. She won 6-1, 6-1 over Sophie Schouten, current No. 33 in the KNLTB rankings. The pool did not lose a single match against Niloufar Shahhangir in the second round. With Marinette Segbisma (20) defeated in the quarter-finals and Melissa Boyden (34) in the semi-finals, Elicia Poll was more than justified in the final.
In the end, the final against Ricky de Kooning, who is no less than 22nd in the Dutch rankings, was one-two-sided. Paul easily won the first set 6-0. The second is lost. Leading 5-2 in the final set, the title seemed within reach. “Ricky is a warrior, so I knew it wasn’t over yet. I became negative and took more and more initiative,” Elicia Paul summed up the third set.
The tiebreaker in the deciding set
De Koning’s initiative was rewarded and resulted in a 6-6 score in the matches, after which a tiebreaker would decide the winner. After a few fewer matches, Paul was able to bounce back and convincingly win the tiebreaker 7-1 and secure the title. A victory that surprised not only the spectators, but also herself. I came here to enjoy playing tennis, because it is a pleasure for me to play at my best. This week I surprised myself a bit with the level I can play.
Elicia Ball will play in America for another year because she wants to finish her studies there. After that I want to play full time to see how far I can go.
Dax Donders wins the men’s championship
In the men’s tournament, Dax Donders won the final. Easily tackle Quin Versteegen in two sets. Given its twenty-third position in the KNLTB rankings, it was already a favorite. Especially after unexpected favorite Brian Bozemog lost to Mats Bredschneider in the quarter-finals.
Tournament director Kees van Austria spoke about a successful tournament. And it wasn’t just because of the sunny spring weather. , compared to last year, we have a stronger field for participants, especially in the show. Of course you want to have the real best players facing international tennis here, but we’re not big enough for that.”
In order to bring in these great players in the future, Van Austria hopes to secure an ITF Championship title. He hopes to succeed next year. “It would be great, but if it doesn’t work out next year, it won’t be a disaster either. We’re doing it for the sport.”
