Billy Harris became a UK Pro League winner while Sonay Kartal made it two event victories in a row as a dramatic week of action came to an end at Chelsea’s Harbour Club.
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The men’s final saw Week 1 runner-up Harris take on Week 5 winner Charles Broom, in a battle between two players who had overcome defeats in their opening group matches to reach the final. After Harris took the opening set, Broom responded strongly to take the second and force a deciding ten-point tiebreak.
But Harris switched momentum back in his favour, with the 26-year-old ultimately prevailing 6-3, 3-6, 10-3 to be crowned Week 6 winner in the capital.
And the Isle of Man star said:
“It’s been a good week. I started with a loss and learnt a couple of things from that match and then played better each round.
“I’m very happy with the week – it’s my first win!”
Broom, who battled past Henry Patten in a heart-thumping Saturday semi-final, said:
“I think overall it was a really high level. The first set and second set both came down to each of us playing well in one return game.
“In the tiebreak he just played really well, came up with a couple of big shots when it really mattered and that was the turning point.”
Having won the week, Harris takes 18 points and now has 48 in total, while Broom secures 15 for finishing runner-up and now sits on 33. Both men currently sit inside the nine-man cut off for Finals Week in November.
The women’s final was a rematch of one of the most competitive matches of the week, with Kartal taking on Katarina Stresnakova.
Kartal and Stresnakova had contested a tight clash in the group stage earlier in the week, with the Brighton star prevailing in a championship tiebreak.
But it was a different story in the Sunday showpiece, with the 19-year-old cruising to a 6-1, 6-2 victory and winning her second Pro League event in a row after also triumphing in Aldershot last month.
And Kartal, who finished the week in Chelsea unbeaten, said:
“I played her at the start of the week and let my concentration dip a little bit so I was very wary of that ahead of today.
“I tried to keep my focus the same throughout. I think I was very clinical in today’s match.”
Stresnakova said:
“It’s been a good week. I’ve played quite well but not quite like how I want to play. I feel like I need a solid couple of weeks of practice just to put it all together.”
Kartal now sits on 46 points after taking 18 points for victory this week, whilst Stresnakova sits on 23 points after taking 15 runner-up points and boosting her chance of reaching Finals Week.
The thrills and spills continue when Week 7 of UK Pro League action gets underway at the University of Bath on September 13, with the race for Finals Week hotting up among Britain’s most exciting tennis stars.