After reaching two International Tennis Federation event finals this year, and losing both, Lisicki was emotional to have defeated Czech Republic youngster Petra Martic 6-3, 6-4 in front of a fervent crowd which included her father and coach Dr Richard Lisicki.
Having forged a 5-1 lead in the opener, Lisicki’s nerves allowed for unforced errors to creep in, temporarily letting Martic back into the game, before the 17-year-old zoned in with an impressive composure that had been present all week, and closed out the first set 6-3.
In the second set it was 16-year-old Martic, who boasts a powerful backhand shot and is world ranked 402, that took an early 2-0 lead.
But the balance was soon redressed and Lisicki, ranked 250 in the world, stormed through with some aggressive ground strokes to go 4-2 up.
Again, unforced errors made for a tense climax as the game was levelled 4-4 only for Lisicki to break back immediately, stepping up her game in a stylish and accurate manner before serving out a challenging game for the win.
Unseeded Lisicki, who knocked out three seeds during the week including the No 1, Britain’s Katie O’Brien 6-3, 6-3 on Friday, was thrilled to win, earning just over £2,000 for her efforts.
‘I think I played pretty well,’ said Lisicki.
‘I played powerfully and didn’t miss so many balls but I got nervous in the second set and lost my service game which I shouldn’t do, at 4-3, but I’m really happy, it was a good win.
I’m hoping to play WTA tournaments next year and my aim is to get into the top 200 to get to the Australian Open qualifying.’ On Saturday, the No 6 seed Frederik Nielsen from Denmark beat the big-serving No 4 Dawid Olejniczak of Poland 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 to win the Men’s $15,000 Caversham International.
Nielsen managed to push his eager opponent around the court with some consistently solid shots while Olejniczak’s initiative-taking play failed to reap reward – a superb cross court backhand wrong footing the Polish player on match point to give Nielsen the win.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever played against a guy whose made that many first serves,’ said the winner.
‘It put a lot of pressure on me to hold my serve and I felt I had to play at a high level to get through it but I’m extremely pleased to win as it was a high quality match.’ Olejniczak soon got a taste of success however, after pairing up with Raphael Durek of Austria to beat British duo David Brewer and Ian Flanagan 6-2, 6-0 in the doubles.
Top seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic beat Brits Katie O’Brien and Georgie Stoop in straight sets to take the ladies’ doubles.
Tournament director Hugh Raymond was delighted with the week and said: ‘I’m very pleased with the way it’s gone – they get better and better.
The next one will be a men’s $25,000 and ladies’ $15,000 starting over the Easter bank holiday weekend, and we should have an ATP men’s event at the end of the year – at the moment we’re in negotiations for a $35,000 or $50,0000 (plus hospitality) competition to run along with a $25,000 ladies’ tournament.’
