Members of the Gunnedah Tennis Club have arrived home after completing a successful tour of Victoria and southern NSW.
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Gabby O’Gorman, Andrew Osmond, Aaron Osmond, Cooper Wilkinson, Nick Barnier-Merzliakov and Mia Wilkinson (along with coaches Dale Martin and Patricia O’Gorman) experienced the 14-day odyssey which made stops in Shepparton, Albury and Wodonga.
Martin revealed the tour featured three tournaments on high-class grass courts.
“It’s hard to find natural grass courts anywhere these days because of the high cost of maintenance,” he said.
“Once grass was the main surface for most of the grand slam tournaments, and there was a lot around Australia.
“The kids had to really adjust their game to the conditions and it made them adapt, and think more about their footwork.”
First-up was the Goulburn Valley Championships in Shepparton, with Cooper Wilkinson the standout.
Playing his first event on grass, Wilkinson reached the finals of the 12 years and under boys singles, and prevailed in the boys doubles.
Next stop, the Margaret Court Cup in Albury.
O’Gorman reached the final of the Open women’s singles where she took on top-seed Linda Huang.
The rivals staged a cracking contest across two hours and 24 minutes.
O’Gorman started brilliantly to win the first set 6-1, but Huang bounced back to take the second in a tie-breaker before sealing the decider 6-2.
Martin said the final was a grand occasion.
“Both players were introduced on court before the final in front of a great crowd, to make the final of the Margaret Court Cup is certainly an achievement,” he said.
Andrew Osmond enjoyed a superb run into the final of the 16 and under boys singles, taking out the age group courtesy of a 7-6 6-1 victory against Western Australia’s Chris Lawrence in the final.
Martin hailed the form of the emerging talent.
“Three of the names on the trophy (he won) were playing in the Australian Open this year in Sam Groth, Matthew Barton and Jordan Thompson,” he said.
Osmond continued his great form across the border in Wodonga, winning the Victorian grass court title to cap an outstanding season.
Martin said the teenager has made some great strides.
“This was Andrew’s last tournament in his age group and has had an outstanding year,” he said.
“He won our local club championships, was runner-up in the North-West championships and has won events from Bundaberg to Wodonga, and a lot in between.”
O’Gorman also had a fine tour according to the coach.
“Gabby played outstanding tennis considering she hadn’t played a lot during the back end of last year due to school students,” he said.
“But I couldn’t have been prouder of her on-court effort and the leadership she showed for our group off-court.
“The group really enjoyed themselves. Trish and I were happy the way they supported each other.”