Finn Tearney and Artem Sitak will contest the men's final after Jade Lewis and Paige Hourigan meet in the women's at the New Zealand Tennis Championships in Auckland.
New Zealand tennis player Finn Tearney. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Tearney, with a current ATP ranking of 482, beat Zach Whaanga from the Kapiti Coast 7-5, 6-1 to make his first final.
"He was tough to beat with his variety of shots. I'm happy to be in the final. It was tough wind out there, but in many ways that makes me have to be strong mentally. It will be a good final and it's a great opportunity for me," said Tearney.
The singles winners of the tournament receive $7,000 each and then for the men's winners there's the prizemoney at the ASB Classic which can help set a player up for a month or so.
Meanwhile Artem Sitak, who was a finalist last year, easily put away Ben Mclachlan 6-2 6-1 in his semifinal with efficiency in all areas of the game.
Paige Hourigan Photo: Photosport
The women's singles final features third seed Jade Lewis against fourth seed Paige Hourigan.
18 year old Lewis comes from arguably the most well-known tennis family in New Zealand and was too strong for top seed Erin Routliffe who mishit and shanked a large number of shots and struggled with the swirling wind.
It is the first time in the tournament for Lewis who admitted it was a struggle at first in the 6-3 6-3 win.
"I was a little nervous at first, but then she made a lot of mistakes. It's great to be in the final and to get the matches under my belt."
Lewis will play Paige Hourigan who had a tough match to defeated second seed Jo Carswell 7-5 7-6(1) in the other semifinal.
Hourigan from Whanganui, but on a scholarship in the United States was a finalist in the NZ Champs in 2012.
-RNZ
