RISING TEENAGE ZIM TENNIS PLAYER SHINES
RISING teenage Zimbabwean tennis player, Benedict Badza, won the doubles title and lost in the singles final at the ITF Junior Tennis tournament in Windhoek at the weekend.
The young Zimbabwean has been earning rave reviews and some analysts believe he will make a huge impression in the near future.
Badza partnered Calum Jestin of South Africa to beat the French pair of Evan Jarzaguet and his compatriot Yoshka Sborowsky in the boys final, with a 3-6, 7-6, 10-5 victory.
The unseeded Jarzaguet had beaten top seed Badza of Zimbabwe in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, in the boys’ singles final.
Jarzaguet, who was unseeded for the tournament, beat several seeded players on his way to winning the title.
In the first round he beat the eighth-seeded Marshall Hulett of South Africa 5-7, 7-6, 6-0; in the second round he beat Theo Nilsson of Sweden 6-1, 6-1; in the quarterfinals he beat the second seed, Mark Nawa of Botswana, 6-1, 6-0; and in the semifinals he beat the third seeded Yarona Morule of South Africa 6-3, 6-3.
In the first round, Badza beat Tefy Rabarijaona of Madagascar 6-0, 6-0.
In the second round he beat Jovan Lubbe of South Africa 6-0, 6-1; in the quarter-finals he beat Elias Hoxha of Austria 6-4, 6-4.
In the semi-finals he beat Francois van Wyk of South Africa 6-1, 6-1.
In the girls singles competition the top seeded Dune Vaissaud of France was in a class of her own as she won the title with ease, after beating Andraina Voavy 6-2, 6-1 in the final.
After receiving a bye in the first round, she beat Harena Voaviandraina of Madagascar 6-2, 6-4 in the quarter-finals; the seventh seeded Annika Kleinhans of South Africa 6-3, 6-0 in the quarter-finals; and the third seeded Erin McKenzie of South Africa 7-5, 6-1 in the semi-finals.
Vaissaud won a second title when she teamed up with Shahd Habib of Egypt to beat Vera Sokolova of Russia and Rune van Wyk of South Africa 6-3, 3-6 in the girls doubles final.
The Namibia Tennis Association are, meanwhile, hosting a second ITF junior tournament after the J4 tournament got underway at the Central Tennis Courts in Olympia yesterday. - Sports