SA duo win ITF Juniors U18 tourney

SOUTH African, Pierre Malan and American, Taylor Cataldi emerged victors at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Juniors Under-18 tourney that ended at the Bulawayo Country Club yesterday.

Malan beat compatriot Dylan Salton 6-2, 6-3 in the boys final while Cataldi beat Great Britain’s MJ Changwereza 7-5, 6-2 in the girls’ category.

The competition began on Monday and attracted 69 players from Botswana, South Africa, United States of America, Britain, Australia, Greece, India and Zimbabwe.

Despite failing to make it to the finals Zimbabwean players such as Thabo Ncube and Beverly Matsiwe held their own to exit at the semi-final stage.

Matsiwe lost to eventual champion, Cataldi 6-2, 6-3 while Ncube was chucked out by Salton 6-0, 6-2.

Tennis Zimbabwe administrator Cliff Nhokwara said the developmental tournament has proved beneficial to local players as it enabled them to get points and international ranking.

“This is a Grade 5 tourney and it presented youngsters with an opportunity to earn the much needed points and get recognition through having a world ranking.

“Although local players might not have gone all the way to win, I think they played well and some exited on Wednesday, meaning they would have raked in points. Others like Thabo and Beverly stood their ground and managed to make it to the semis so I think it was a great outing for the players,” he said.

Nhokwara said earning points also made the players eligible for the main draws in future events.

He said the presence of higher grade players at the tourney such as Malan brought in good competition.

“I think it was also a great lesson for our local players as they have to work harder if they want to match their peers in this competition,” he said.

Bulawayo will play host to another ITF junior event next week with the under-12 tourney also being played at Bulawayo Country Club.