Cantabrian Hornby (17), who will take up a scholarship with Georgia State University later this year, has won several junior titles, but was elated to take his first open title when he beat Nelson student Alex Low 6-4, 6-3.
Both finalists have big serves but Low's was blunted somewhat by an elbow injury suffered in earlier rounds. Hornby had a very reliable smash, and was more inclined to approach the net and end rallies with a winning volley or overhead.
Low pushed himself hard but this event played over two days found him with a tough draw and two stern three-setters before the final, while Hornby arrived at the final by a shorter route. In the semifinals, Hornby beat Aucklander Durdamya Munibhargav 6-2, 6-2. Munibhargav showed some inventive touches but Hornby's power was often too much.
Low had to labour hard to subdue Miki Nobuzawa (Queenstown) 6-4 in the third set and then faced a 2hr 45min battle to beat Auckland student Aaron Hicks, also 6-4 in the third. Although Low was seeded top to Hornby's fourth, it was clear before the final points that Hornby was finishing much the stronger.
Hume (17) and Scarlett Cuthill matched one another for pace on both serves and groundstrokes in the women's final, but Hume was more reliable. Her background of club tennis in Auckland and Christchurch gave her the edge on consistency.
Cuthill's best shots were every bit as good but the young Otago schoolgirl has travelled far in her quest for competition, and her all-round game is now more solid.
The upsets began early, with second seed Sam Poulter, the North Harbour student, losing his first match to Hutt Valley student George Milne 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Milne, in turn went down to Munibhargav 6-3 in the third. Another seed to fall early was Jonathan Wilson (Wellington), who lost to Will Bourne 6-4 6-1.
Bourne next lost to national junior rep Nobuzawa. In the women's competition Cuthill, seeded third, beat second seed Jessie Stevenson 6-2, 7-5 with unexpected ease in her semifinal while Hume beat Nicky Wallace (North Otago) 6-2, 6-2 in a hard-hitting contest.
There was a minor upset in the women's doubles when the experienced Heike Cebulla-Elder and Debbie Stevens were more consistent in the third-set match tiebreak for Wallace and Cuthill. The men's doubles was won by second seeds Mattias Wieland, from Canterbury, and Ryan Eggers, of Otago, who beat top seeds Low and James Leggett also in a match tiebreak.
The top seeds had survived some hard build-up matches, but the enthusiasm of Wieland and the touch of Eggers came through in the tight finish.