LAHAINA, February 1, 2016
The final day of the $50,000 Sportmaster Tennis Championships of Maui commenced on stadium court with the first match between [1] Christina McHale (USA) and Raveena Kingsley (USA). McHale, who has a career high singles ranking of 24 in the world came out swinging and took control of the first set 6-3. Just when it seemed to be all McHale, Kingsley got a break in the second set and would eventually take it 6-4. Set three commenced with Kinglsey going for all her shots. Kingsley held strong and got a 4-2 lead in the set.
“She made it extremely difficult for me,” started McHale. “She has a very aggressive game. Every time I didn’t get the ball deep enough, she was attacking.”
McHale stayed strong and would eventually fight back to win the final set and the championship, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
“I was really happy I hung in there, especially in that third set. I was down a break things were not really going my way, but I was happy with the way I fought and stayed in there. I took my chances when I got them at the end,” she concluded.
Women’s final ceremony in Maui (photo: Mike Mock/USTA Hawaii)
The next match on court was the Men’s Championships Final between [1] Kyle Edmund (GBR) and Di Wu (CHN). Edmund, currently ranked 88 in the world was heavily favored over Wu, ranked 243. From the start of the match, Edmund seemed to be having his way with Wu. It was not until the second set that Wu started to pick apart Edmunds game. Edmund, who usually hits the ball with pace and precision, started to push the ball more than anything which resulted in Wu taking advantage of the drop in pace. Wu would eventually take the second and third set to win the title 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and seven minutes.
Wu is the first contender representing the country of China to win an ATP Challenger tournament.
“I came along and I felt relaxed,” Wu started. “It was the last tournament of the Chinese New Year, so I had to fight. I will remember this for the rest of my life.”
This concluded the matches of the 2016 SportMaster Tennis Championships of Maui.
RESULTS – SUNDAY
Men’s Singles – Finals
D. Wu (CHN) d [1] K. Edmund (GBR) 46 63 64
ITF Women’s Singles – Finals
[1] [WC] C. Mchale (USA) d R. Kingsley (USA) 63 46 64
