Richter beats Pieters to win ITF Junior title

SEBASTIAN Richter of Germany continued his giant-killing run when he beat South Africa’s Hernus Pieters 6-4, 6-3 in the Boys’ U/18 singles final at the ITF South and Central African Junior Tennis Tournament in Windhoek on Friday.

The 12th-seeded Richter was more consistent and regularly won points with his solid shots from the baseline. Pieters, on the other hand, was a bit erratic and made too many unforced errors. Pieters displayed a powerful first serve, but his net play let him down, as he regularly sprayed smashes and volleys out of court. It was Richter’s first major victory on the ITF junior circuit and capped a great week during which he beat several seeded players on the way to the final.Richter beat the seventh-seeded Pieter Becker of South Africa 6-4, 7-6 in the second round, before beating the second-seeded Jarryd Botha from South Africa 6-4, 6-1 in the semi-finals. Pieters, who was the third seed, beat the fifth-seeded Kyle Rowe of South Africa 7-6, 6-0 in the semi-finals. Rowe had earlier eliminated the top-seeded Valdik Munshaw of India 7-6, 7-5 in the quarterfinals. The girls’ singles final was an all-South African affair as Natasha Fourouclas edged Tracy Plant 6-3, 7-5 to win the title.Both displayed fine shots from the baseline and numerous long rallies, but Fourouclas was a bit more consistent and made fewer unforced errors. The second-seeded Fourouclas beat the fourth seed, Zarah Razafimahatratha of Madagascar, 6-3, 6-3 in the semi-finals, while the sixth-seeded Plant beat the third-seeded Anna Rufyikiri of Burundi 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 in the semi-finals. In the quarterfinals, Plant beat the top seed, Natasha Rasalomalala of Madagascar, 6-4, 6-3. NAMIBIANS STRUGGLE Namibian players however struggled to make their mark. Jean Erasmus, who was seeded ninth for the tournament, was Namibia’s best player. He received a first-round bye before beating Vasilios Caripi of South Africa 6-2, 6-2 in the second round. In the third round he was however eliminated by Kyle Rowe 6-3, 7-5. Johan Janse van Vuuren beat Lekang Aobakwe of Botswana 6-1, 6-2, before losing 6-0, 6-0 to the third-seeded Hernus Pieters. Namibia’s other players were all eliminated in the first round.Leonardo van Niekerk lost 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 to Paul Phiri of Zambia; Thomas Geier lost 6-1, 6-1 to Charles Nkoueleue of Cameroon; Schalk Ruan Bezuidenhout lost 6-0, 6-4 to Bishop Mosebi of Lesotho and Jonathan Edmunds lost 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to Felix Cavallero of the Ivory Coast. In the girls’ singles competition, all of Namibia’s competitors were eliminated in the first round. Annalien Davin lost 6-1, 6-2 to Lani Scholtz of South Africa, while Carita Moolman lost 6-4, 6-4 to the seventh-seeded Clorinda Wessels of South Africa.Teri Olivier lost 6-1, 6-0 to the eighth-seeded Este Potgieter of South Africa, while Kerstin Gressmann lost 6-1, 6-4 to Sarah Ive of South Africa. The tournament was the first of three on the Southern African circuit, which has drawn more than 100 participants from countries like Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.The second leg, which started yesterday, also takes place in Windhoek this week, while the third leg takes place in Gaborone, Botswana, starting on August 8. www.namibiasport.com.na