Alexander Donski of Bulgaria and Merel Hoedt of the Netherlands won the respective men’s singles and women’s singles titles of the Tennis SA Tuks International after winning their final clashes at TuksTennis Courts in Pretoria on Sunday.
For over three tight, tense and terrific hours, Bulgarian Davis Cup player Alexander Donski and Arthur Cazaux of France traded the lead, playing on and on and on until a third-set tiebreaker was required to settle their memorable final.
In the end, it was the fourth-seeded Donski who emerged victorious, coming back to edge Cazaux 7-6(3) 6-7(5) 7-6(3) to clinch the men’s singles title. The Bulgarian
Meanwhile, in the men’s singles event, Dutch second seed Merel Hoedt secured her first win in South Africa with an easy win over Austrian seventh-seeded Yvonne Neuwirth who edged out top seed Chanel Simmonds in the semi-finals. Hoedt efficiently disposed of Neuwirth in two sets (6-2, 6-1) in a surprisingly quick clash which lasted for just 85 minutes.
Final Results
Singles
Men
4-Alexander DONSKI (BUL) bt Arthur Cazaux (FRA) 7-6(3) 6-7(5) 7-5
Women
2-Merel HOEDT (NED) bt 7-Yvonne NEUWIRTH (AUT) 6-2 6-1
Doubles
Men
3-Alexander Donski (BUL)/ Raheel Manji (CAN) bt 2-David Pichler (AUT)/ Mehluli SIBANDA (ZIM) 6-2 7-5
Women
1-Caroline ROMEO (FRA)/ Chanel Simmonds (RSA) bt 2-Zeel Desai (IND)/ Merel Hoedt (NED) w/o