Prodigy holds court with No 1’s mom
SIPHOSOTHANDO Montsi spent most of his 21-hour flight to Tunisia in tears.
Hours earlier, the South African tennis prodigy had been knocked out of the Australian Open Juniors tournament in the first round.
But the 17-year-old wasn’t sad. He had never felt better in his life.
That’s because after his game, which took place last weekend, the Pretoria teenager was approached by Judy Murray‚ the coach who set her son Andy on his path to No 1 in the world.
T h e world-renowned coach congratulated him on his fine performance and tweeted a photo with the the prodigy: “Today I watched the most naturally gifted young player Siphosothando Montsi from South Africa.” Montsi was blown away. “It was really nice to meet Judy,” he said. “At the start of our conversation I was nervous but the nerves went away the more we chatted.
“Judy said that she likes the way I play, especially my drop shots and she said I have a beautiful serve. She also said that I’ve got a bright future ahead of me and I’ve got all the skills needed to be successful in the game – but that my game will get better as I get physically stronger and bigger.”
Montsi will cherish her compliments for the rest of his life. “It was a great accomplishment to get such a big compliment like that from the world No 1 player’s mom.”
Montsi was one of three South African juniors in Melbourne with coach Allan Karam, including Philip Henning from Bloemfontein and Joshua Howard-Tripp from Boksburg.
Montsi, who is enrolled at the Laurel Springs Online School, said he had enjoyed his debut at a Junior Grand Slam in Australia.
“It was an amazing experience and the atmosphere was just fantastic because of the treatment we were getting – like we were also professional players.”
Montsi is now in Tunisia, where he is set to compete in the African Junior Championships as well as the ITF G2 tournament. His parents, Xolani and Phumla, who were unable to travel with him to Australia, said they were proud t hat Murray had recognised their son’s talent.
Phumla used her pension savings to fund her son’s Australia trip. “To catch the eye of a world-recognised coach is a dream come true. We have always dreamt someone out there would recognise this talent and hopefully do something about it.
“We are very proud of Siphs, and we give all the glory to God,” she said.
Xolani said it had always been his son’s dream to be a professional sportsman. “It’s evident he is destined for success in the tennis world. A combination of hard work, discipline, passion, dedication coupled with talent will make him realise his dream of being a professional tennis player,” said Xolani.
The family had always thought Montsi was meant for the soccer pitch. “At first, we thought he was going to be a soccer star, but as a man of many talents we got a bit confused because he excelled in every sporting code he took part in such as rugby, soccer, cricket and tennis. In 2014, he made up his mind and chose tennis.” However, he said the family’s lack of funding was the biggest threat to future stardom for Montsi‚ who has now been offered a place at the prestigious IMG Academy in the US, along with his brother, who also excels in tennis.
Xolani said the family needed R1.5 million to send their sons to the US tennis school. Montsi, who is ranked 108th in the world junior rankings said he was desperate to join the school with his brother, Khololwam.
“My dream is to hopefully become the world’s No 1,” he said.