NORTH Shore tennis fans witnessed the re-emergence of a Canadian tennis star last week as Aleksandra Wozniak fought through the Hollyburn Country Club-hosted Odlum Brown VanOpen to win her first pro title since 2008.
Three years ago Wozniak became the first Canadian woman in 20 years to win a WTA Tour event and she reached a careerhigh world ranking of No. 21 in 2009 but a lingering forearm injury stalled her career just as she was breaking through.
On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at Hollyburn, Wozniak dispatched Jamie Hampton of the United States 6-3, 6-1 in the VanOpen final to finish off an outstanding week of tennis that she hopes will propel her back into the game's upper echelons.
"I haven't felt that in a long time," Wozniak said about the joy of winning a championship. "It gives you motivation and keeps you positive to keep going and not give up."
The win moved Wozniak, a resident of Blainville, Que., up 50 places in the world rankings from No. 200 to 150.
"It's a challenge to come back to where I was (in the rankings) and try to beat that," she said. "Hopefully I can do it."
On the men's side another fallen star came up just short as former world No. 15 Robby Ginepri made Sunday's final but was bested 7-5, 6-4 by England's James Ward, the No. 2-ranked player in Great Britain behind Andy Murray.
"It's been a great week for me," said Ward, who also played the VanOpen last year and made the quarterfinals after coming through as a qualifier. "I obviously feel really at home here, comfortable surroundings and just happy to get the win here today."
Ward, a long and lanky player with a booming serve, said he showed "a lot of fighting spirit" over the week at Hollyburn. "I came from behind in a couple of situations and that's probably the most pleasing part of the week. I'm really happy with that and looking to take that spirit into my next tournament as well."
The win moved the 24-year-old Ward up 30 ranking spots to No. 144 in the world and came on the heels of strong showings at the Queen's Club preWimbledon event and a Challenger event in Lexington, Ky., where he made the final in both doubles and singles.
Ginepri, a U.S. Open semifinalist in 2005, is coming back from a nasty elbow injury suffered in a mountain bike crash last fall. This was his fifth tournament since returning to the tour in late June and his first appearance in a final since the
crash.
"I'm definitely on the right track to where I want to be," he said after the match. "It's always great to make the final. Obviously when you get this close you want to finish the job. James played a little bit better than I did today and I'm not going to dwell on it too much, just keep going forward like I have been all summer. My main goal is the (U.S.) Open and it's less than a month away so I'm looking forward to that."
Though the North Shore is world famous for its mountain bike trails Ginepri said he had no thoughts about giving them a whirl.
"Not at all," he said with a laugh. "I'll probably stick with a stationary bike until my tennis career is done."
A wild men's doubles final opened the day on Sunday with Treat Conrad Huey of the Philippines and Travis Parrott of the United States beating U.S.A.'s David Martin and Australia's Jordan Kerr 6-2, 1-6, 16-14 to take the title.
In the women's doubles final, played Saturday, Czech twins Karolina and Kristyna Pliskova dropped the first set but came back to win against Hampton and Thailand's Noppawan Lertcheewakarn.
The VanOpen is a Challenger event, one step below the top-tier ATP and WTA tours. Its $200,000 purse, the maximum for a Challenger, makes it the biggest Challenger event of the year and the players were raving about the setup after Sunday's finals.
"It's unbelievable, it's by far the best Challenger on the tour," said Ward.
"It's great, one of the most beautiful places I've ever played at," said Ginepri. "If the tournament is in my schedule again I'd love to come back."
Organizers have considered the possibility of bumping up to the top tour level but many questions about a potential move remain, including whether Hollyburn would be willing and able to host a much larger event and where it would fit into the tennis calendar.
For now it will stay a Challenger - Odlum Brown, presenting sponsor Invesco and Hollyburn Country Club are all signed on for the next two years.
