Taking home the chocolates: Quigley, Thompson champions at Easter tournament

Thompson got to lift the trophy again after a gripping three-set epic against Tran.

The now two-time champion said the result came as a bit of a shock given he has not played much in recent years.

“It was surprising. Given the hiatus, it is good to be back and playing this well,” Thompson said.

“I haven’t played very much for five or six years. I had a group of friends coming up to play in the social events so I thought I would come up and have a go again and obviously got quite lucky.

“It is good to be back, there will definitely be some sore muscles tomorrow.”

Looking to earn what would have been his third title in five years, top seed Tran came out blazing and took out the first set 7-6 (7-5) in a tiebreaker.

But Thompson – unseeded in the tournament – answered in fine fashion, blitzing the second set 6-1 to send the match into a third and final leg.

The two traded blows and with the set tied at 6-6, it headed to a tiebreaker where two points ultimately decided the outcome.

With the score locked at 5-5, Tran’s lob shot was just long of the baseline before Thompson drilled a picture perfect backhand winner down the line to clinch the title.

“In the third set we both came out firing,” Thompson said.

“We were both hitting really good shots and it could have gone either way at the end, but I got lucky to snag a winner on match point.

“There were a few nerves, I’m not going to lie. Getting that close, it can go either way on a bounce or a net cord or something like that. I was just trying to keep the ball on the court and not go for anything too ridiculous, but I gave up on that on match point.”

On the court next door, another three-set blockbuster was taking place between Quigley and Poile.

Playing on her home court, Quigley, 22, took out the first set 6-1.

But Poile, hoping to claim at last the women’s singles crown after back-to-back final defeats, levelled the match after winning the second set 6-3.

However, it was Quigley who held her nerve in the deciding set.

After trailing early on, she hit the front before ultimately prevailing 7-5 to secure her first tournament title at her home event.

“It feels great. I have been playing this tournament for a long time, so to get to the final and win is fantastic,” Quigley said.

“It is good to win here. I haven’t gotten past the first few rounds in this tournament before, so it is a good feeling.

“I played really well in the first set. I was down in the third set, but came back and won. I was 5-2 down in the second set of my semi-final match on Sunday, so I thought if I did it then I can do it again today.

“I am really happy with how I played this weekend.”

Given the scale of the flooding that hit Shepparton Lawn Tennis Club late in 2022 that put the courts under about 2m of water, Thompson thanked everyone at the club for their efforts to ensure the tournament could go ahead.

“I know the club has been in a lot of trouble with the floods last year and COVID the year before that, so it is awesome to see the tournament back up and running,” Thompson said.

“I think this is the biggest tournament I have seen here, so thank you to everyone involved in getting it up and running.”

The Easter tournament will return in 2024 for what will be the 100th edition of the historic event.