The women’s top seed made the final having dropped only one game.
In the decider, she came up against Miranda Mirosa, who downed Tessa Richardson 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals.
Both players started solidly in the final, Mirosa able to make plenty of balls against her higher-ranked opponent.
At 5-4, O’Neill was able to hit some big ground strokes to take the first set 6-4.
With the first set in the bag, O’Neill was able to relax and use her backhand to dictate play, taking the second set and the match 6-4, 6-2.
In the men’s draw, defending champion Ryan Eggers was in good form as he came into the final against Paddy Ou on a 14-match winning streak.
These wins included titles at the North Otago Open and the Christchurch lawn tennis tournament.
The first set of the final resulted in repeated breaks of serve as both players were able to make plenty of returns.
In a shift of momentum, Ou won four games in a row to take the first set 7-5.
Long rallies at the start of the second set turned the match into a physical battle.
Eventually Ou was able to take the set and the match 7-5, 6-4.
Earlier in the draw, both players faced tough competition to get into the final.
Eggers overcame Auckland veteran Gilles De Gouy in the semifinals 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 and the impressive Hugo Barsby in the quarters 4-6, 6-1, 10-7.
De Gouy also had a tough quarterfinal as he played the rapidly improving Matthew Campbell, winning 6-1, 4-6, 10-5.
In the men’s doubles final, Barsby and Will Bourne played very solidly to get up 5-3 against Campbell and Jaden Grinter.
However, the big-hitting pair of Grinter and Campbell powered their way back to take the first set 7-5.
Rolling with the momentum, Grinter and Campbell won the second set and the match 7-5, 6-1.
In the women’s doubles final, Meredith Molloy and Trudie Von Huben used their experience and court craft to beat the younger pair of O’Neill and Richardson 7-5, 6-2.
It was Molloy’s and Von Huben’s first Otago Open doubles title.
The pair did not drop a set the whole tournament.
— Paddy Ou
