Murray’s mother inspires EL-born tennis star
THERE is arguably very little that can cheer up the spirits of a young sportsman after a loss.
But what should qualify in the criteria of “very little” is having Judy Murray, the mother of world number one tennis player, Andy, describing you as “the most naturally-gifted young player”.
This is a comment she passed earlier this year, after watching Siphosothando Montsi at the Australian Open Juniors in Melbourne.
A comment he claims has done a lot for his confidence since.
“It has certainly done a lot for my confidence. The Australian open was really a good experience. I mean playing at the highest level in junior tennis in the world was one of my goals and I am glad I reached it and being regarded as one of the best juniors in the world was really good and was always one of my goals,” Montsi said.
“The comment [by Judy Murray] was just amazing, I was just so happy to get it.” East London-born Montsi moved to Pretoria together with his father and brother in 2012.
Both he and brother Khololwam were offered full scholarships until matric at Curro Hazeldean High School, before opting for home schooling this year. This is a move that has certainly aided the progression of his tennis career.
“It was a tough move at first leaving friends but I think it was a good move because at that time I felt like I was dominating the tennis in the whole of Eastern Cape. I was a top player, so I just felt like I needed to move to a bigger place to try to conquer bigger stages,” he said.
Montsi has been on the move once again, this time to the south west of the country, as he has recently joined up with the Anthony Harris Tennis Academy in Cape Town. “We have always known Anthony, the main coach at the academy. We just started speaking and I went to times,” he said.
“It’s a good academy, Anthony is a good coach so it was kind of an easy decision to move there.
“It has the top players in South Africa to train with, which is extreme because there aren’t a lot of people in South Africa I can train with, so that was the big difference,” Montsi said. The move that the Montsi brothers would have desired however, was to Florida, US.
The brothers were offered a place at the IMG Tennis Academy but because of financial reasons, could not fund the move
“It was disappointing for sure,” he visit a few said.” Montsi had a great 2017, having also been part and parcel of the South African Davis Cup squad as well as the Commonwealth Youth Games.
“Those were both great experiences especially the Davis Cup. The Commonwealth Youth Games offered the opportunity of being around other athletes and I enjoyed that.”
Montsi says he and his brother were hoping to play more professional games on the international circuit next year and a mentor to the brothers, Usiphile Mpetsheni, has recently set up a crowd fund to help finance those plans.
“The whole thinking behind crowd funding is to raise awareness of two young black tennis players, who are making waves. It’s a challenge to us as a South African community to try to raise funds for these young guys. If you cannot donate, we urge you to share the crowd fund details which are on the Montsi brothers Facebook page,” Mpetsheni said.