Jurgens to turn professional soon

NAMIBIA’S sensational junior tennis player Jurgens Strydom will turn professional before the end of the year.

Nampa caught up with the 18-year-old Strydom recently at the Central Tennis Courts in Olympia where he was conducting a coaching clinic for six development players. Strydom said it was his plan to enter the paid ranks once he finished playing the US Open Junior Championship in September.He said the move would not have been possible without the financial support of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC).”MTC is helping me to make the transition from a junior to a professional tennis player and I thank them for giving me the opportunity,” said Strydom, who is ranked the 97th best junior male amateur tennis player in the world.He recently returned from the United Kingdom where he played at the Junior Wimbledon Championships.Strydom and his doubles partner, Christopher Llewellyn from the UK, were eliminated in the semi-final of the Junior Wimbledon doubles tournament.He was one of only four Africans who played in the event.About playing at Wimbledon, he said it was an incredible experience which he described as the highlight of his career.Reaching the semis was a shock to him and his partner, as they were considered underdogs.It was the first time that Strydom and Llewellyn played together but they clicked from the first match, forcing their way through to the semi-finals.Although it was hard at first to play on grass, he enjoyed the experience and actually only got used to it when the tournament was almost over.Strydom said he prefers playing on a hard court but he realised that grass actually suits his type of game.He also enjoyed the experience of seeing the “greats of tennis” in action and sharing the same dressing rooms.The 18-year-old tennis star is currently based at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) High Performance Centre in Pretoria, South Africa.He is training there on an Olympic Solidarity scholarship.He is currently competing at the SATPC Junior ITF Tournament, which started yesterday and ends on July 24.He will also compete at the PIC Junior ITF Tournament from July 25 to 30 in Pretoria.After that, he will return to Windhoek to defend his singles title in the first leg of the ITF Under-18 South and Central Africa Junior tournament early next month.All players participating in the circuit will then move to Botswana from 7-11 August and Zimbabwe from 13-17 August 2005.- NampaStrydom said it was his plan to enter the paid ranks once he finished playing the US Open Junior Championship in September.He said the move would not have been possible without the financial support of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC).”MTC is helping me to make the transition from a junior to a professional tennis player and I thank them for giving me the opportunity,” said Strydom, who is ranked the 97th best junior male amateur tennis player in the world.He recently returned from the United Kingdom where he played at the Junior Wimbledon Championships.Strydom and his doubles partner, Christopher Llewellyn from the UK, were eliminated in the semi-final of the Junior Wimbledon doubles tournament.He was one of only four Africans who played in the event.About playing at Wimbledon, he said it was an incredible experience which he described as the highlight of his career.Reaching the semis was a shock to him and his partner, as they were considered underdogs.It was the first time that Strydom and Llewellyn played together but they clicked from the first match, forcing their way through to the semi-finals.Although it was hard at first to play on grass, he enjoyed the experience and actually only got used to it when the tournament was almost over.Strydom said he prefers playing on a hard court but he realised that grass actually suits his type of game.He also enjoyed the experience of seeing the “greats of tennis” in action and sharing the same dressing rooms.The 18-year-old tennis star is currently based at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) High Performance Centre in Pretoria, South Africa.He is training there on an Olympic Solidarity scholarship.He is currently competing at the SATPC Junior ITF Tournament, which started yesterday and ends on July 24.He will also compete at the PIC Junior ITF Tournament from July 25 to 30 in Pretoria.After that, he will return to Windhoek to defend his singles title in the first leg of the ITF Under-18 South and Central Africa Junior tournament early next month.All players participating in the circuit will then move to Botswana from 7-11 August and Zimbabwe from 13-17 August 2005.- Nampa