Shane Barr's two-year domination of men's singles tennis in Hong Kong came to an end yesterday when he was sent crashing to a straight sets defeat by Andrew Town in the final of the Furama National Championships.
Barr has been almost unbeatable in the two years since he first arrived in Hong Kong but yesterday he was no match for fellow Australian Town, who gave a textbook performance on his way to a 6-4, 6-4 win at Victoria Park.
The 26-year-old professional from the Pacific Club used his superior speed around the court and a solid serve to outfox Barr.
'Shane didn't put his best foot forward but I was happy with the way I played,' said Town. 'I've played him three times before and I've never beaten him so I'm very pleased to have done it today, in the final of the National Championships,' he added.
Although Barr's service game appeared stronger than it had done in the earlier rounds, his groundstrokes were not up to their usual high standard and on a few occasions he allowed Town to save points that really should have been buried.
Town's first service break came midway through the first set, giving him a 4-3 lead as he held serve to win 6-4. The second set was a similar story as Town managed one break to win 6-4.
