Willman beats Batie

Press, 26 December 1986, Page 22

Willman beats Batie

PA Wellington The second seed, Mark Willman, has won the national boys’ 18s tennis title at Lower Hutt’s Mitchell Park, beating the surprise finalist, Andrew Batie, 6-3, 7-6. Batie, aged 16, had been expected to trouble Willman after ousting the top seed, Craig Hansford (Auckland), 6-2, 6-0, on Tuesday but a blustery wind spoiled his game. The Cantabrian had trouble with his first service and Willman was able to dispatch his weak second serve to all cor-

ners of the court.

Batie staged a fightback in the second set which saw the services of both players broken as often as they were held.

The tie-breaker was an anti-climax. Batie made several unforced errors which saw his opponent race to 6-0. From there it was just a matter of time until Willman, an 18-year-old from North Shore, wrapped up the match. Claudine Toleafoa, aged 16, confirmed her rating as one of New Zealand’s most promising young players with an easy 6-3, 6-2, win over Amanda

Tate in an all-Auckland final.

Although the wind favoured a careful approach, Toleafoa was never afraid to attack.

Hansford extracted some revenge for Tuesday’s loss when he and a fellow Aucklander, Chris Carden, beat Batie and Jason Young (Western BOP) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, in an entertaining boys double final. Toleafoa and Amanda Trail (Canterbury) won the girls doubles final 6-4, 6-2, over Auckland’s Anabelle Newdick and Tate.