Classy champ takes eighth title | Oamaru Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Oamaru

Robin Jamieson and Nicky Wallace were untouchable on the way to defending their respective North Otago closed tennis championship titles yesterday.

For Jamieson, his 6-2 6-4 victory over Glen Claridge in the men's singles final made it his eighth North Otago closed championship title, with the last six  back-to-back.

The North Otago No1  seed has carved somewhat of a legacy for himself on the local scene in recent seasons, but still has some way to go to eclipse veteran Des McMaster's standard of 21 championships.

Wallace locked away her second closed championship in a straight-sets final against Julie Craig (6-4 6-1), a fitting finish for the 19-year-old who looked a class above the rest of the women's field.

Wallace made the final in convincing fashion, after brushing aside Nicole Duncan in the first round and then 13-year-old Rebecca Dellaway (6-2 6-3) in the semifinal.

It was closer  in the second semifinal, with Craig  tested but unbroken against a determined Samara Dalziel (6-3 6-4). Dalziel went on to take the third-place playoff fairly easily against Dellaway, 6-0 6-2.

Jamieson joined Jason Tauwhare and Glen Claridge as straight-set winners to progress to the second round, but McMaster was forced to go the distance in an epic three-setter against Jeremy Ferguson (7-6 2-6 6-3).

There was no fairytale finals appearance for McMaster, who was dispatched 6-0 6-3 by the driving forehand of Jamieson.

Claridge booked his place in consecutive finals with a 6-1 6-1 semi-final win over Tauwhare, but couldn't make the step-up against Jamieson in the final. Tauwhare took third in the men's draw after defeating McMaster 6-4 6-1 in the playoff.

A  standout performance in the singles came from young Dellaway, who hung in well to eventually overcome Judith Wallace 7-6 7-5 in the first round. 

In the doubles, Claridge and Ferguson saw off Jamieson and Marty McCone 2-6 7-6 6-3 to take the men's honours, while Dalziel and Kerry Packer held their nerve in a third-set tiebreaker (7-3) to win the women's doubles 6-4 4-6 7-6 against N. Wallace and Craig.

The father-son combination of Kevin and Cameron Dellaway won the men's doubles plate, while R. Dellaway and Jody Robinson were the women's plate victors.