21 Dec 2010

Lopsided finals day at NZ Residentials

6:47 am on 21 December 2010

The top seeds hardly broke a sweat as both finals at the national indoor tennis Residentials were settled in straight sets at North Harbour.

Russian-born player Artem Sitak demolished the Australian-raised second seed Marvin Barker 6-1 6-love to take the men's singles title in just 55 minutes, and the women's final didn't take much longer, number one seed Katherine Westbury beating second seed Leela Beattie 6-4 6-love in just over an hour.

The wins earned guaranteed spots in the Heineken Open and ASB Classic qualifying draws for the 24-year-old Sitak and Westbury, who's just 17.

Hamilton-born Westbury is Canterbury-raised of Thai parents, but the family is looking at relocating to Melbourne, although she is certain of playing for New Zealand and has thrown herself behind the nation of which she is now the national champion.