Mercer Tennis Classic: Katerina Stewart Claims Macon Singles Title

MACON, Ga. - A beautiful day greeted our two singles competitors on Sunday for the singles final at the 2019 Mercer Tennis Classic.

South Carolina native, Shelby Rogers was playing in her second consecutive singles final and Katerina Stewart was having a breakthrough week at this 80K USTA Pro Circuit event.

Rogers has been the most dominant player all week in Macon, and that appeared to continue after seven games in Sunday's final. But that is when Stewart found her range, particularly with her backhand to start forcing Rogers errors. Really the first stretch of errors shone by Rogers all week. Stewart actually held a 6-5 lead before Rogers held a meeting with herself to regroup.

Rogers held to force a tiebreaker, but Stewart claimed the first two points of the tiebreaker on Rogers unforced errors. Rogers again with a racquet tap on the court, and reeled off seven straight points including service winners to nab the opening set.

The second set showcased Stewart's defensive skills. Rogers continued to unleash big forehands and backhands keeping Stewart well behind the baseline. But Stewart seemed to get "just one more ball back" to force a Rogers error that she was able to take advantage of to claim the second set 6-3.

On to the third set,where Rogers appeared to start laboring a bit on long points. Stewart sensed something may have been wrong, but Rogers kept fighting until the end, even though Stewart pulled away with the three-set victory.
One of Stewart's biggest titles of her career.

"The first set, I was able to fight back and almost take it," stated Stewart. "Then I saw she might have some kind of condition, so I just stick in there and thought I might have a good chance."

Stewart said she's not playing the next two 80K tournaments, but will opt to just play two 25K level events in Florida."

"And then I'm on vacation," she added. "But will be playing a full schedule in 2020."

Rogers and Stewart had never faced each other as professionals.

In Saturday's doubles final that went the distance, the American duo of Usue Maitane Arconada and Caroline Dolehide outlasted Jaimee Fourlis of Australia and Valentini Grammatikopoulou of Greece. The final score of 5-7, 6-2 (10-8) showed just how close this match was from the start.

The Americans used their aggressive net play to take the second set and hold off the international pair in the match tiebreaker.

Singles Final set for Sunday at noon!

Sunday's Result:
Katerina Stewart (USA) def. Shelby Rogers (USA) def. Grace Min (USA) 6-7(2) 6-3 6-2

Notes:
On Wednesday, the Mercer Tennis Classic hosted a Net Generation Kid's Day attended by up to 100 junior tennis players.

Great crowds, great energy and support from tennis fans all week in Macon.

Now in its seventh year and third year as an 80K event, the Mercer Tennis Classic will once again feature a weeklong 32 player singles draw and 16 doubles teams in Macon. It's seven days of fan friendly tennis and now the second biggest professional tournament in the state of Georgia in terms of prize money (ATP World Tour 250 event - BB&T Atlanta Open in July, is the largest). It is also the longest running professional women's tennis tournament in the state of Georgia.

The Mercer Tennis Classic has featured players with major titles. 2014 Macon singles champ, Kateryna Bondarenko, of Ukraine, and her sister, Alona, teamed with to win the 2008 Australian Open Doubles title. The Bondarenko Sisters have played doubles in Macon. In 2017, 2010 French Open singles champ, Francesca Schiavone of Italy was the top seed.

Players come to Macon to play for $80,000 in prize money, valuable WTA ranking points and in the past, a spot in the first major of 2020, the Australian Open in Melbourne. A women's wild card will be awarded to the American with the highest cumulative total of WTA singles ranking points earned from upcoming events. Only Americans who do not earn direct entry into the Australian Open are eligible. In the event of a tie, the player with the best WTA singles ranking, will be awarded the wildcard.

Highlights of the week include the Tuesday Pro Am and Player/Sponsor party, and an annual event with free lessons, food and more. Also the players will make visits to area schools to promote tennis as a lifetime sport and the professional event, along with surprises during the week!

Tournament Facts:
Mercer Tennis Classic
A USTA Pro Circuit Event
Oct. 21-27, 2019
Leroy Peddy Tennis Center
Macon, Ga.
Purse: $80,000
Surface: Hard-Outdoor
Tournament Director: Eric Hayes

About the Leroy Peddy Tennis Center
The LeRoy Peddy Tennis Center is the home for Mercer University men's and women's tennis. The facility is located just inside the South campus entrance, nestled among its pine tree lined western perimeter and adjacent to MU's softball stadium and practice fields. The Center features a total of eight courts, aligned in a picturesque bi-level configuration (four courts each on the upper and lower tiers). With a digital scoreboard featuring real-time scoring of matches, the lighted venue also has ample parking and seating for fans on either level and a park-like walkway for access between the two sections.

About the USTA Pro Circuit
With approximately 90 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country and prize money ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals. The USTA launched its Pro Circuit in 1979 to provide players with the opportunity to gain professional ranking points, and it has since grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, offering nearly $3 million in prize money. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries competed in cities nationwide. Victoria Azarenka, Eugenie Bouchard, John Isner, Madison Keys, Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori, Sam Querrey and Caroline Wozniacki are among today's top stars who began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit.

Middle Georgia Tennis Foundation
The mission of the Middle Georgia Tennis Foundation is to raise funds to support tennis programs, especially youth programs in Middle Georgia.

For more information:
On-site PR contact: Rick Limpert (209) 920-7425 or email: Rick.Limpert@gmail.com
Website: www.ustamaconclassic.com
Twitter: @USTAMacon80K
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaconTennisClassic/
Instagram: wl_amos_tennis

Mercer Tennis Classic: Katerina Stewart Claims Macon Singles Title

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors

Footer