Youngster serves up title win

Albany tennis talent Abbi Gibson continues to shine on the national stage, returning home with the Canberra Tennis World Junior Open title to her name.

Playing up an age division in the 14- year-old girls, the 12-year-old upstaged two highly ranked seeds in the quarterfinal and semifinal stage before a convincing straight-sets win over No.4 seed Chloe Katerdjian, 6-1, 6-0, in the final last Sunday.

Her road to the final included a straight-sets win over No.5 seed Ashleigh Simes in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 6-3, before dominating top seed India Schreiber in the semifinal, 6-4, 6-1.

Abbi’s sparkling form on the hardcourts came after a sixth-place finish in the 12-and-under Clay Court Nationals in her first time on clay.

Coach David Kerr said Abbi’s win was impressive after her first-time experience on clay courts in the lead- up.

“It was a great win for Abbi back on hardcourts,” he said.

“Abbi works very hard through the year, without the regular matchplay and competition that city kids get.

“She played awesome tennis in the second event, was aggressive and from all reports hit her opposition off the court with great aggression and attacked really well.” Kerr said Abbi would now have eight weeks of preparation before taking on the country’s best singles players at Melbourne Park in the December Showdown.