Anton Matusevich claims win on UK Pro League return

By Oli Dickson-Jefford

2021 UK Pro League champion Anton Matusevich revelled in marking his return to court with UK Pro League Week 6 victory in Aldershot.

The Sevenoaks star beat George Houghton 6-3, 6-4 in Saturday’s men’s singles final at the Aldershot Tennis Centre.

It rounded off a near-perfect week for the 21-year-old who dropped just one set across his five matches - against Houghton in their opening pool match last Sunday.

And though he did not feel the level was quite as high on Saturday as their first match, Matusevich was still thrilled to cap his week with victory.

He said: “I think the level was worse than the first one against George, but usually against George it’s a pretty good battle. Today I don’t think he was playing well from the back but I was serving very well and just utilised an indoor hard court - my favourite surface - and got the job done in the end.

“I’m very pleased. I haven’t actually played a tournament in a month, month-and-a-half so to win my first tournament back, there’s a lot of good players here so I’m very pleased.

“What I’m most pleased with this week is that my serve and forehand were pretty good and my attitude as well.”

The Premier League of British tennis, the innovative format is the only season-long competition for the UK’s top professionals and brings them together for seven weeks of action to qualify for the UK Pro League Finals Week in November.

Joining Matusevich in the winner’s circle this week was Alice Gillan, who battled past Beth Grey to seal victory.

Dartford’s Gillan, who did not drop a set in the pool stage or her quarter-final clash, held off a fightback by Grey to prevail 7-6(2), 1-6 [10-8] to seal Week 6 victory in Surrey.

The 24-year-old was pleased to overcome a familiar opponent, and grab a UK Pro League victory after playing several editions of the events.

She said: “It was a tough battle. Beth’s a good player - I’ve played her quite a few times before. I also train with her sometimes so we know how each other play. She’s a good player, but I was pleased to get through it and thought I played quite well.

“I actually couldn’t be happier. I’ve been playing Pro League since the beginning - it’s my third year now, I’m trying to play as many as I can - so to come away with a win was really good. It’s helped to fund a lot of players’ tournaments and travel. I think it’s definitely going to help me now to push on and improve my WTA ranking.

“Overall, I feel my serve has been especially good this week. I’m most pleased with my serve, but generally I feel fairly calm on court. The most improved thing has been my serve.”

With nearly half a million pounds of prize money up for grabs across the season, all the thrills and spills are broadcast live on BT Sport, The Tennis Channel and UKproleague.tv News and updates across the season can be found at ukproleague.com