World No.516 Jason Kubler scored his first title at the ITF M25 in Burnie since a 10-month injury layoff halted his 2024 campaign.
The former top-ranked junior defeated close friend Omar Jasika 6-3 6-2 in the final over the weekend to clinch his 22nd career title.
"It's nice to get my first title since I've come back," Kubler told The First Serve. "I was short a couple of times already, so it started to play on my mind a little bit, but very happy to get the win [in] tough conditions.
"I was fortunate [that] I was able to serve pretty well - not necessarily get me out of tight situations - but put myself in a good position where I could swing a bit freer in the rallies, so that definitely helped."
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Kubler has won three of the past five meetings against Jasika, but explained that facing a "great friend" doesn't impact his focus compared to other players on tour.
"[It's] great to play a great friend in Omar. I'm actually one of the weird ones [who] enjoy playing their friends," confessed Kubler. "A lot of people get a little bit uncomfortable about it, but I enjoy it purely because I know regardless of what happens, we're going to be great friends after the match.
"The good and bad thing about tennis is that a new week [is around the corner], so there's another tournament. [I will try to] celebrate with dinner and then lock in for [this] week."
Forced to essentially start from scratch after an injury-plagued season last year, the 31-year-old knows all too well how to wrestle back from adversity.
Despite undergoing multiple knee surgeries and having doctors tell him to avoid hard courts, Kubler is continuing to defy the odds.
"I didn't get injured for at least a couple of years [before 2024], but definitely had to reset and start again," he said.
"I think this time is a bit different just because I've come back with not really a ranking. Before I'd be out for six months... I'd be out for six months, but my ranking would still be around 300.
"Whereas now I have the week and a Future and it's [not as many points]. This one is going to be tougher than in the past, but we have experience.
"I think at the moment I'm definitely on the right track. I'm getting results that I can be happy with and hopefully, I keep improving."
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