While much of the tennis world was still trying to recover from the riveting Novak Djokovic vs. Stan Wawrinka five-hour Australian Open marathon that ended Sunday morning, the semifinals of the Tesoro Women's 25K in Port St. Lucie, Florida were just getting started.
A day of rain on Saturday meant the semifinals and finals would be played on Sunday.
Play was suspended on Saturday with Tadeja Majeric leading China's Shuai Zhang 5-0, and Majeric was able to close that match out quickly on Sunday morning.
Her opponent in the finals would be Sharon Fichman of Canada who defeated Tetyana Arefyeva of the Ukraine 6-2, 6-2 in her semifinal.
An intriguing final for a 25K event early in the year. Fichman is a veteran of USTA Pro Circuit events, and Majeric is riding a 14 match winning streak.
Well, the final was dominated by the Canadian as Fichman cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win and the title. This is Fichman's seventh title at an event that offered a 25K or higher purse.
This also helps Fichman's ranking heading into the rest of the winter and gives her early season confidence. Another good result, or two and Fichman could be knocking on the door of the top-100.
Majeric was on a roll coming into the final and if she continues that play, she too will be making some noise on the WTA Tour in the near future.
In the doubles final, Angelina Gabueva of Russia and Allie will of the United States won a third set match tiebreak over Florencia Molinero and Adriana Perez.
In addition to the players and fans enjoying this week's event, some four-legged friends were hoping to find a home. The Humane Society of the Treasure Coast was the benefiting charity for tournament. Dogs from the local humane society were be up for adoption at the tournament throughout the week.
You can see all the action at www.tesorochallenger.com.
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