South African players have dominated the International Tennis Federation Central Africa Junior tournament currently underway in Windhoek, by reaching all the finals that will take place today.
More than 100 players from all over SADC are competing in the tournament at the Central Tennis Club where the u16 and u14 finals will be held this morning.
The boys u16 singles title will be contested between the top two seeds from South Africa, Eathan Pieper and Hlumani Kekana.
The top-seeded Pieper beat the sixth seeded Tendekai Musabaeka of Zimbabwe 6-2, 7-5, while the second-seeded Kekana beat the third-seeded Jamie Roux of South Africa 6-3, 3-6, 10-5.
Luan Brand was Namibia’s best performer in the Boys u16 category, beating Bakuena Phat’Soane of Lesotho 6-3, 6-3; and the fourth-seeded Kefentse Lekaukau of Botswana 6-2, 6-0, before losing 6-4, 6-0 to Musabaeka of Zimbabwe in the quarter-finals.
Of Namibia’s other participants, J van der Westhuizen received a first round bye before losing 6-1, 6-1 to the eighth-seeded Joshua Coquet of Mauritius; Lian Kuhn received a first round bye before losing 6-4, 6-2 to Reagile Diraditsile of Botswana; and Dante Marcus received a first round bye before losing 6-2, 6-1 to the second-seeded Kekana.
The girls u16 final will be contested between another two South African players – Roxy Bredenkamp and Jenna Theron.
The top-seeded Bredenkamp beat Namibia’s Mari van Schalkwyk 6-0, 6-1 in the semis yesterday, while the fourth-seeded Theron came from behind to beat the second-seeded Chanelle Zhuwakini of Zimbabwe 6-7, 6-4, 10-5.
Van Schalkwyk, who was seeded eighth, had a great tournament, winning her first three matches with ease. In the first round she beat Akemy Chonguica of Mozambique 6-0, 6-0; in the second round she beat Mukangwa Siame of Zambia 6-1, 6-0, and in the quarterfinals she caused a big upset by beating the third seed, Simphiwe Malunguza of Zimbabwe 6-1, 6-0.
Of Namibia’s other participants, Natalia-Tia Ouses, Hilya Campbell and Joavinia Bezuidenhout all reached the second round, while Ndeumono Wilhelm lost her first round match 6-2, 6-1 against Neliswa Tsima of Botswana.
Ouses beat Jazara Alberto of Mozambique 6-1, 6-2, before losing 6-0, 6-0 to Theron of South Africa; Campbell beat Makhesa Tikou of Lesotho 7-5, 6-7, 11-9 before losing 6-0, 6-0 to the second-seeded Zhuwakini; and Bezuidenhout got a walkover into the second round where she lost 6-0, 6-1 to the top seeded Bredenkamp.
Upsets in Girls u14 category
The girls u14 category saw a number of upsets, with two unseeded players from South Africa, Leago Dube and Lily Haley qualifying for this morning’s final.
Dube beat the top-seeded Emmly George of Zimbabwe 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, before a comprehensive 6-0, 6-0 victory against Ntsepase Toloane of Lesotho in the semifinals.
Haley, meanwhile, has also been in impressive form, beating the second-seeded Rutendo Tom of Zimbabwe 6-0, 6-1 in the quarterfinals, before beating the fourth seeded Claire Majeye of Zimbabwe, 6-1, 6-0 in the semis.
Namibia’s Emma Brinkmann beat Melodu Mubanguiane 6-2, 6-0 before losing 6-0, 6-1 to Tom, while Secilia Nghitewapo beat Kinaya Chonguica of Mozambique 6-0, 6-1, before losing 6-3, 6-2 to Tholoane of Lesotho.
Namibia’s Milan de Lange and Elrica Nakusera both lost their first round matches to Lindiwe Nkanda of Lesotho (6-0, 6-0) and Oninstsoa Ramanampanoharana of Madagascar (7-5, 6-2) respectively.
The boys u14 final will also be contested between two unseeded South Africans – Tristan Summers and Nicholas Kruger. Summers beat the top seeded Joel Badza of Zimbabwe 6-3, 6-1, while Kruger beat another Zimbabwean, Devine Kaliofasi 6-0, 6-0.
Namibia’s Johan Theron beat Sulleiman Rujeedawa of Mauritius 6-0, 6-1 and Tlhokiomelo Bobi of Lesotho 6-1, 6-2, before losing to Kaliofasi 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinals; Tadiwa Mombeyarara beat Zweletho Mkhonta of Eswatini 6-1, 6-3, before losing 6-0, 6-0 to the fourth seeded Ny Avo Razafindrazaka of Madagascar; and Gabriel Gurirab lost 6-0, 6-0 to Alexandr Thevenet of Mauritius.
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