Gabriella Da Silva-Fick has had a fantastic couple of weeks on the grass courts at ITF Pro Circuit events culminating in her first ITF singles title in Swan Hill.
After making the Semi Finals of singles at the W35 Mildura ITF event, Da Silva-Fick’s confidence grew, and she was primed for another big run at the W35 Swan Hill ITF event.
“I honestly had no expectations in terms of results going into the grass and it doesn’t naturally suit my game style, but I focused on myself, my strengths and just decided to embrace the challenges that grass presents which I really enjoyed.”
Winning her first couple of rounds in style, she came up against top seed Maddison Inglis winning impressively 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
After another tight encounter in the Semi Finals defeating Alana Parnaby 7-6, 7-6, it was young gun world junior #3 Emerson Jones in the Final.
After losing the first set, Da Silva-Fick steadied and improved throughout the match winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to claim her first ITF Pro Circuit title.
“It feels rewarding and motivating to know that my hard work and commitment does pay off. I also gained a lot of confidence in myself knowing I can play high quality tennis for a full week and especially in high pressure situations. It feels like the best thank you I could give to the people who have supported me.”
Da Silva-Fick’s singles ranking moves to a career high of 436 in the World and will now prepare to head overseas to Europe and Asia to continue her momentum.
“I have a training block for a month or two before I head overseas for ITF’s. My coach (Shannon Nettle) and I have a long-term focus to get my game to a level where I can be competitive and winning matches in WTA events and Grand Slams, so I’ll be putting my head down back to work and aim to make the most of the year ahead."
