Republic of Ireland Davis Cup player Sean Cooper picked up his first Hong Kong title since moving here in June by winning the singles title at the South China (SCAA) Open Championships at Wylie Path yesterday.
Playing in near perfect conditions before a healthy-sized crowd, the 25-year-old defeated the Pacific Club resident coach, Giovanni Muratore, denting the Australian's hopes of winning a second major local title after picking up the Hong Kong National title in April.
Cooper, who has represented his country in Davis Cup for the past four years, was more consistent as he scored an emphatic 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory over hard-serving Muratore to announce his arrival in the SAR.
In a topsy-turvy final which saw both players making errors, the Hong Kong Jockey Club resident coach proved too strong for Muratore in a contest that lasted just over two hours.
Victory was never easy for Cooper, who needed to dig deep to win a tightly contested opening set, which went to a tiebreaker. Cooper closed out the set after Muratore crashed a backhand into the net.
With the opening set in the bag, Cooper's confidence grew and the Irishman began to dominate his Australian opponent in the second set. Cooper led 5-2, but allowed the tenacious Muratore to claw his way back into the game at 5-4 after breaking Cooper's serve. But Cooper held steady in the 10th game as he broke back, claiming victory after Muratore netted another backhand.
