Top seeded Chanel Simmonds showed her class and experience at Africa’s Kingdom of Pleasure on Friday, when she beat fellow South African, third seeded Madrie le Roux 6-2 6-2, in the Sun City Futures 3 title decider in the 1 hour 28 minute final.
Playing her best tennis all week, Simmonds took control of the match in the fifth game of the first set when she broke serve to lead 3-2. le Roux put so much effort into the first four games, she looked like a tired and weary marathon runner on the changeover after the break.
In fact, le Roux broke Simmonds serve in the first game of the match, and looked like a player on a mission.
Simmonds promptly broke serve back the second game and then both players held serve until the sixth game where Simmonds broke to lead 4-2. Simmonds closed out the first set 6-2.
Consistency the Key
“I was very consistent, kept the ball going yet played with good pace which tired Madrie” said Simmonds. “I was also playing the high ball which forced Madrie to put in extra effort on her shots.”
Simmonds got the early break (second game) in the second and raced to a 3-0 lead.
Two further breaks by Simmonds in the sixth and eighth games gave Simmonds the set 6-2, the match and her second Futures title in South Africa (first was the Potchefstroom Futures in 2012).
Doing the Double
Simmonds made it a doubles title when she teamed up with fellow Fed Cup squad member, Michelle Sammons to win the doubles title. The top seeds beat fourth seeds, Ilze Hattingh and Madrie le Roux (the former African junior champions) 6-3 6-3 in the final.
Final Results of the Sun City Futures 3 Tournament played at Sun City, North West Province, on Friday, 13 June, 2014:
Singles Final: 1-Chanel Simmonds (RSA) bt 3-Madrie le Roux (RSA) 6-2 6-2 Doubles Final: 1-Chanel Simmonds/Michelle Sammons (RSA) bt 4-Ilze Hattingh/Madrie le Roux (RSA) 6-3 6-3 Singles Semi-finals: 1-Chanel Simmonds (RSA) bt Ilze Hattingh (RSA) 6-4 7-5 3-Madrie le Roux (RSA) bt 2-Clothilde de Bernardi (Fra) 5-7 6-3 6-1 Doubles Semi-finals: 1-Chanel Simmonds/Michelle Sammons (RSA) bt Anais Isart (Esp)/Maria Knott (Aus) 6-3 6-0 4-Ilze Hattingh/Madrie le Roux (RSA) bt 2-Agata Baranska (Pol)/Stephanie Kent (USA) 6-1 6-4 Singles Quarter-finals: 1-Chanel Simmonds (RSA) bt 7-Stephanie Kent (USA) 6-1 6-1 Ilze Hattingh (RSA) bt 4-Natasha Fourouclas (RSA) 6-2 6-1 2-Clothilde de Bernardi (Fra) bt Agata Baranska (Pol) 7-5 6-4 3-Madrie le Roux (RSA) bt 6-Alexandra Riley (USA) 6-2 6-2 Doubles Quarter-finals: 1-Chanel Simmonds/Michelle Sammons (RSA) bt Michelle Erasmus/Jade Pondicas (RSA) 6-1 6-0 2-Agata Baranska (Pol)/Stephanie Kent (USA) bt Natasha Fourouclas (RSA)/Vanja Klaric (Srb) 6-2 6-2 Anais Isart (Esp)/Maria Knott (Aus) bt Marisa Gianotti (Aus)/Chelsea Te Tai (Nzl) 5-7 6-2 10-7 4-Ilze Hattingh/Madrie le Roux (RSA) bt Caitlin Herb/Jeanna Schimdt (RSA) 6-2 6-0 Round 2 Singles: 1-Chanel Simmonds (RSA) bt Amelie Intert (Ger) 6-2 6-0 4-Natasha Fourouclas (RSA) bt Liniques Theron (Nam) 6-1 6-0 7-Stephanie Kent (USA) bt Mila Hartig (RSA) 6-2 6-1 2-Clothilde de Bernardi (Fra) bt Helga Jeske (RSA) 6-1 6-1 Ilze Hattingh (RSA) bt Lindsay Truscott (RSA) 6-0 6-0 Agata Baranska (Pol) bt Lenice van Eyk (RSA) 6-4 6-3 6-Alexandra Riley (USA) bt Ani Vangelova (Bul) 5-7 6-2 7-5 3-Madrie le Roux (RSA) bt Caitlin Herb (RSA) 6-3 6-0 Round 1 Doubles: 1-Chanel Simmonds/Michelle Sammons (RSA) bt Julie Mansour (RSA)/Liniques Theron (Nam) 6-2 6-0 2-Agata Baranska (Pol)/Stephanie Kent (USA) bt Valeria Bhunu/Nicole Dzenga (Zim) 6-4 6-1 Natasha Fourouclas (RSA)/Vanja Klaric (Srb) bt Ciney Bekker/Mila Hartig (RSA) 6-1 6-0 Caitlin Herb/Jeanna Schimdt (RSA) bt Lindsay Truscott/Nelise Verster (RSA) 4-6 6-1 10-4 Anais Isart (Esp)/Maria Knott (Aus) bt Warona Mdlulwa/Lenice van Eyk (RSA) 6-4 4-6 10-8 Michelle Erasmus/Jade Pondicas (RSA) w/o Amelie Intert (Ger)/Casey Robinson (USA) (Intert sustained leg injury) 4-Ilze Hattingh/Madrie le Roux (RSA) bt Shannon Cox/Helga Jeske (RSA) 6-4 6-1 Marisa Gianotti (Aus)/Chelsea Te Tai (Nzl) w/o 3-Ani Vangelova (Bul)/Alexandra Riley (USA) (Vangelova and Riley no show) Round 1 Singles: 1-Chanel Simmonds (RSA) bt Warona Mdlulwa (RSA) 6-1 6-0 Amelie Intert (Ger) bt Julie Mansour (RSA) 6-0 6-1 4-Natasha Fourouclas (RSA) bt Vanja Klaric (Srb) 6-1 6-4 7-Stephanie Kent (USA) bt Nadia van Heerden (RSA) 6-0 6-0 Mila Hartig (RSA) bt Maria Knott (Aus) 6-0 6-4 Caitlin Herb (RSA) bt Jade Pondicas (RSA) 6-0 6-3 2-Clothilde de Bernardi (Fra) bt Valeria Bhunu (Zim) 6-1 6-1 Ilze Hattingh (RSA) bt 5-Michelle Sammons (RSA) 6-0 2-6 6-1 Lenice van Eyk (RSA) bt Marisa Gianotti (Aus) 6-4 7-6 (4) Agata Baranska (Pol) bt 8-Casey Robinson (USA) 6-3 6-1 Liniques Theron (RSA) bt Jeanna Schimidt (RSA) 7-6 (6) 6-2 6-2 Ani Vangelova (Bul) bt Nicole Dzenga (Zim) 6-0 4-6 7-5 6-Alexandra Riley (USA) bt Anais Gomar Isart (Esp) 6-4 6-2 3-Madrie le Roux (RSA) bt Chelsea Te Tai (NZL) 6-2 3-6 6-1 Lindsay Truscott (RSA) bt Nelise Verster (RSA) 6-2 6-1 Helga Jeske (RSA) bt Shannon Cox (RSA) 6-2 6-3
Photo 1 caption: Top seed Chanel Simmonds of South Africa captured the Sun City Futures 3 tournament title on Friday. Simmonds beat third seed and fellow South African Madrie le Roux 6-2 6-2 in the final, having extracted revenge for her Futures 2 loss to Ilze Hattingh the week before, playing solidly for a 6-4 7-5 semi-final win (pictured) to steer her through to Friday’s final. Photo: BLD Communications
Photo 2 caption: Chanel Simmonds of South Africa was crowned the Sun City Futures 3 Champion on Friday. The third-seeded Michelle Sammons had beaten 2-Natasha Fourouclas 2-6 7-5 6-4 in an all-South African final in the first Futures tournament on 31 May, before the unseeded Ilze Hattingh upset French second-seed Clothilde de Bernardi 6-1 6-3 for the her maiden Futures title, in the second tournament’s final, on Saturday, 7 June, 2014. Photo: BLD Communications
(With editing by gsport)
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