Jade Culph in action during the final. Picture: JOHN RUSSELL
ALBURY’S Jade Culph overcame a gruelling schedule to take out the open men’s crown at the Victorian Grasscourts Championships at the Wodonga Tennis Centre yesterday.
Culph, who won the Margaret Court Cup earlier in the week, was forced to call on all of his reserves to bring down No.1 seed Sam Thompson 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-1).
The win came after he played eight singles and doubles sets on Saturday.
“I’m a bit out of gas at the moment,” Culph said yesterday.
“It’s been a big couple of days.
“All the finals were tough and I was happy to get the win after being a couple of match points down in the third set.
“I’m enjoying my tennis and that’s the biggest thing for me.”
While Culph’s victory in the final was the highlight of his campaign, he fought just as hard to overcome fellow Albury player Mark Shanahan 6-3 3-6 7-6 in the semi-finals.
Culph said it was difficult to rate the titles in the Margaret Court Cup and Grasscourts Championships,
“The Margaret Court Cup is rated a gold event and this one silver, but similar players played in both,” he said.
“My workload in this one was a bit tougher.
“As soon as we finished in Albury, we came over here and got into the doubles straight away.
“Both tournaments have been tough.”
Culph, who hopes to be a hitting partner for several players at the Australian Open, will play in the Victorian Country Week series in Wodonga next month.
