Hill shows resilience

Michael Hill, a 23-year-old Australian, showed notable resilience when winning the inaugural ITF Futures event at Riverview on Saturday.

Hill had dismissed Owen Casey in the quarter-final and once again proved a strong finisher. He dispatched Noam Okun (20) of Israel 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, in almost two hours.

The match had the essentials for a thriller, three service breaks in each set, 14 aces and many service winners but it was far from being a classic. A glut of errors from both sides of the net and a shortage of worthwhile rallies between two heavy hitters turned it into quite a boring spectacle for the onlooker.

Hill once again impacted with a powerful serve and excellent ground shots but was prone to error at the net.

Okun's back hand screamers were seen all too infrequently in this instance but he looked a strong contender after breaking serve for the second time in the 10th game of the first set.

Hill broke in a 16 point fifth game of the second set but Okun helped by Hill's weaknesses at the net broke back immediately. The Australian was not to be denied much longer. He broke to 15 three games later and served out for the set.

After breaks of serve were exchanged at the outset of the final set Hill got the crucial breaks in the seventh and ninth games.

"It was difficult for me," said Okun, "whenever I broke he seemed to break back."

Singles final: M Hill (Aus) bt N Okun (Isr) 4-6 6-4 6-3. Doubles: H Levy and R Weidenfeld (Isr) bt D Bracciali and I Gaudi (Ita) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.