SA juniors dominate ITF tourney
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) under-18 tournament hosted by the Namibia Tennis Association (NTA) in Windhoek came to an end on Saturday, with South Africa dominating the youth tournament.
The grade four tennis competition started on Monday and saw players from over 14 countries participating.
South African juniors Pierre Malan and Megan Basson won the singles for boys and girls respectively after defeating fellow South Africans in the finals.
Malan beat Joubert Klopper 6-3 7-6 (3) in the boys' final, while in the girls' final Basson fought it out with Marne Dercksen over three sets, which saw her winning 6-3 4-6 6-0 to be crowned champion in that division.
In the doubles, Klopper and Gerhardt Becker beat their fellow South Africans Malan and Charl Morgan in the final. They won their sets 6-7 (5) 7-6 (5) (11-9).
In the girls' doubles final, Alexandra Anttila from Finland and Delien Kleinhans from South Africa were crowned champions, after beating Basson and Dercksen 6-4 6-4.
Speaking during the award ceremony on Saturday, NTA president Sam Kaulinge said the tournament produced a lot of excitement and he hopes these young players will keep on giving their best in future competitions.
“I'm wishing you all well when you travel back to your respective countries and thank you for making this tournament a success,” he said.
Kaulinge said credit should be given to the ITF for trusting Namibia to host this junior competition, where players fought for international ranking points.
Basson said she enjoyed every moment of the competition and will now turn her attention to other competitions, where she hopes to gain more ranking points.
Malan said he will still be in Namibia for the grade five junior tournament, which starts on Monday at the same courts, and his goal is to continue winning more silverware.
“Last year I lost out in the final of this competition here, but I am glad that this time around I won it. This tennis court brings out the best in me, but I'm now thinking, if I should continue playing, to turn professional or go to college and study,” said Malan.
NAMPA
The grade four tennis competition started on Monday and saw players from over 14 countries participating.
South African juniors Pierre Malan and Megan Basson won the singles for boys and girls respectively after defeating fellow South Africans in the finals.
Malan beat Joubert Klopper 6-3 7-6 (3) in the boys' final, while in the girls' final Basson fought it out with Marne Dercksen over three sets, which saw her winning 6-3 4-6 6-0 to be crowned champion in that division.
In the doubles, Klopper and Gerhardt Becker beat their fellow South Africans Malan and Charl Morgan in the final. They won their sets 6-7 (5) 7-6 (5) (11-9).
In the girls' doubles final, Alexandra Anttila from Finland and Delien Kleinhans from South Africa were crowned champions, after beating Basson and Dercksen 6-4 6-4.
Speaking during the award ceremony on Saturday, NTA president Sam Kaulinge said the tournament produced a lot of excitement and he hopes these young players will keep on giving their best in future competitions.
“I'm wishing you all well when you travel back to your respective countries and thank you for making this tournament a success,” he said.
Kaulinge said credit should be given to the ITF for trusting Namibia to host this junior competition, where players fought for international ranking points.
Basson said she enjoyed every moment of the competition and will now turn her attention to other competitions, where she hopes to gain more ranking points.
Malan said he will still be in Namibia for the grade five junior tournament, which starts on Monday at the same courts, and his goal is to continue winning more silverware.
“Last year I lost out in the final of this competition here, but I am glad that this time around I won it. This tennis court brings out the best in me, but I'm now thinking, if I should continue playing, to turn professional or go to college and study,” said Malan.
NAMPA
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