MORE than 70 players participated in the first Sanlam junior tennis tournament of the year that took place in Windhoek over the weekend.
In the boys under 18 category, George Louw and Daneel van der Walt drew the attention to their fast and action packed final. Both boys aged 14 years have a lot of international experience. Van der Walt has beaten Louw in Swakopmund 4 weeks ago and gave his utmost to defend his title.
He won in the semi-final against Sarel Janse van Rensburg 6-2 and 6-2. Louw overcame Dian Calitz in his semi-final with 6-2 and 6-4. In their final match, Louw and Van der Walt played excellent tennis at times, showing a variety of strokes and performed accurate services. With the score at one set all, they had to play a super tiebreak (first to 10 points).
George Louw immediately took the lead by making less mistakes and keeping up the pressure. He triumphed over Van der Walt with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 10-4.
In the boys u12 section 16 players came to show their mettle in four round-robin groups with the top two in each group progressing to the quarterfinals.
Fitness and determination played a crucial role as the top players had to play up to five matches to reach the finals. Several matches were very close and the outcome had to be determined by tiebreaks.
Abraham Alemu and Brian Edwards did very well and came second in their respective groups. Alemu beat Arnaud Marais 6-3, 3-6 and 10-5 in the quarter final round, but had to bend the knee in the semi-final against the favourite, Ruben Yssel, who eventually took gold in the u12 boys division.
Xavier Klazen from Outjo played very well but was beaten in a close game in the quarter finals by Ruan Calitz 7-5, 3-6 and 11-9 who eventually took silver in their division.
Calitz then took on Liam Forster in the semi-finals which resulted in a nail-biting battle. Forster had three match points in the super tiebreak, but Calitz kept his cool and to win the tiebreak 11-9. Ruben Yssel beat Calitz 7-5, 6-4 in the final to finally win the well-deserved gold medal.
The boys u14 division was comfortably won by Adam Diggle, who beat Oliver Leicher 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
The girls u14 division was dominated by Raica Coelho who only lost three games on her way to winning the gold medal.
In the girls u16 division Lisa Yssel emulated her brother Ruben in the u12 boys division by winning all her matches to take the title. Ayanda Basson in the girls u10 division whitewashed her opponent, Minenhle Moyo from Swakopmund in the finals by winning 8-0.
The Girls u12 division was dominated by Hayley Kidd from Swakopmund who only conceded two games on her way to winning the gold medal.
Speaking at the prize giving, Sanlam’s Hilaria Graig said,
“Sanlam is committed to making a meaningful contribution to the communities that it operates in. As a responsible corporate citizen, Salam understands that in order for our young people to excel and chase their dreams, corporates likes Sanlam are need to support their initiatives.”
The Namibian Tennis Association expressed its appreciation to Sanlam for their huge contribution towards the development of tennis in Namibia.
This tournament was the ideal preparation for the Namibian u12 team that will be leaving for Bulawayo in Zimbabwe in a week. They are going to participate in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Confederation for Africa Tennis (CAT)’s Southern African Team Championships from 18 to 22 March.
Two teams in both the girls and boys divisions will automatically qualify for the African Junior Team Championships (AJTC’s) in September this year.
The Namibian teams are:
Boys: J W du Preez, Ruan Calitz and Rueben Yssel.
Girls: Hayley Kidd, Karla Terblanche and Odycia Karaerua.
The team captain is Idel Terblanche with Norman Makuwaza the coach.
The complete results for the Sanlam Junior Tournament are as follows:
Boys U/10 1st: Abraham Alemu, 2nd: Brian Edwards, 3rd Samuel Nel
Girls U/10: 1st: Ayanda Basson, 2nd: Minenhle Moyo, 3rd: Lila Kidd
Boys U/12: 1st: Ruben Yssel, 2nd: Ruan Calitz, 3rd: Liam Forster; Doubles winners: Ruan Calitz & Ruben Yssel
Boys U/14: 1ste: Adam Diggle, 2nd Oliver Leicher, 3rd Juan Kuhn; Doubles winners: Oliver Leicher & Adam Diggle
Girls U/16: 1st: Lisa Yssel, 2nd: Hendrina Apollus, 3rd: Sute Tjombe; Doubles winners: Lisa Yssel & Hendrina Apollus
Boys U/16: 1st: Diken de Jong, 2nd: Christian van der Merwe, 3rd: Jaco Becker; Doubles winners: Jaco Becker & Samuel Mayinoti
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