KELVIN Ndhlovu of Zambia and Milnay Louw of South Africa were crowned the Aqua Splash Namibian Open squash champions after winning the men and women’s titles on Sunday.
Zambia’s top ranked player, Ndhlovu won his third Namibian Open title after beating South Africa’s Rodney Durbach 3-0, while the defending women’s champion Louw, who is also South Africa’s top-ranked female, won her sixth Namibian Open title after beating Lauren Siddal of the UK 3-0 in the women’s final.
Their victories brought to an end a highly successful tournament that saw top class squash on display, with several of southern Africa’s top players from Namibia, Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and even Nigeria in action.
In the men’s final, Ndhlovu was just too sharp for Durbach, who had won the Namibian Open title twice before and at the age of 45 is still one of South Africa’s top squash players and a member of their national team.
Earlier this year Durbach had beaten Ndhlovu in Mossel Bay, South Africa, but the Zambian turned the tables on Sunday with a great performance. He pushed the tempo from the start, dictating play and mixing power and finesse as he tired Durbach out with his relentless pressure.
Except for a brief moment in the third set, Durbach was never really in the match and Ndhlovu went on to clinch the title with a 11-3, 11-2, 11-5 victory.
After the match Ndhlovu said he tried to increase the pace and tire Durbach out.
“I think I stayed in control from the start. Rodney tried to change the game in the third set and I had to work around that and try to do what I did in the first two games and it worked out for me. I knew if the game was slowed down he would have the advantage because he’s sharp when the game is a bit slower, so I just said it’s not going to happen, I’m not going to give you that chance, I’m going to up the pace and that’s exactly what I did,” he said.
Durbach acknowledged that the pace was too high for him.
“I played well, but the pace was very high and I struggled a bit with the high altitude,” he said.
“But it was a fun tournament, the people were great and Namibia is fantastic. I also get to see the other African players competing and meet up with old mates and get to meet new ones,” he added.
In a repeat of last year’s women’s final, Louw once again beat Siddal to record her sixth Namibian Open title.
Siddal, herself a regular visitor to Namibia, who had won the title three times before, provided tough opposition but in the end Louw ground out a 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 victory.
Louw said it was a tough match.
“It wasn’t as straightforward as the score suggests – I needed to focus from the start till the end to make sure I closed it out in three sets. It’s so easy to lose focus or for the momentum to change so I’m very happy that I could close it in three sets,” she said.
“The tournament was great. I love coming here, I think it was my seventh or eighth year now, and I hope to be back next year again,” she added.
Michael Wood of South Africa won the men’s third place play-off in a thrilling match after beating Manda Chilambwe of Zambia 3-2 (11-3, 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9), while Yemisi Olatunji of Nigeria won the women’s third place play-off after beating Cheyna Tucker of South Africa 3-1 (4-11, 12-10, 11-3, 12-10).
Chris Mulubwa of Zambia beat Max Endjala of Namibia 3-2 (11-7, 11-6, 10-12, 3-11, 11-7) to win the men’s Plate final, while Henco Knipe of Namibia beat compatriot Henco Serdyn 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-7) to win the men’s Consolation Plate.
In the Consolation Cup final, Danie Greeff of Namibia beat compatriot Clifford de Witt 3-0 (11-5, 13-11, 11-3).
Waldo Schafer won the men’s local A league and Raymond Pakula the B league, while Liezel Wijgergangs won the women’s local league.
