Ellis Goes Down fighting in 12s National Indoors Final-Christchurch

Annabel Ellis lost a close tussle to top seed Paige Hourigan 7-6 6-4.Ellis went to a 5-3 lead inthe first set and Hourigan started to lose the plot emotionally,however she was able to regain composure and forced a tiebreak, it was a tense affair , with Ellis unfortunate on set point to have a close call go against her.Hourigan with some strong backhands took the tiebreak 8-6.Ellis again went to a lead of 4-2 in the second set before Hourigan again staged a comeback winning 4 games on the trot and the set and match 6-4.All in all Annabel should be pleased with her performance and shows she can mix it with the best in the country and with this hopefully will provide the incentive to work harder and strive for more success. Good news also for South Canterbury and the coach Sam Lane won the 5th place playoff beating Kai Lee of Canterbury 6-3 6-2.Lane had been defeated by eventual winner Kyle Butters in quarter finals in a close three set match.Butters won the final defeating Pannu the top seed 6-3 6-0.