Sithole scores another big win
THE country’s top wheelchair tennis quad ace, Lucas Sithole added another title to his accolades when he clinched his second doubles title in Geneva, Switzerland on Friday.
The second-time Paralympic Games qualifier put the icing on the cake with another magnificent Swiss Open campaign, teaming up with Heath Davidson from Australia for a second doubles crown. The duo defeated American pair Bryan Barten and former world number one David Wagner 1-6 6-4 (10-3).
The Swiss Open is an International Tennis Federation (ITF) level 1 event and forms part of the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour.
In the singles event, the 29year-old was as focused and determined, posting a confident win over Timmermans Hall from the Netherlands 2-6 6-0 6-1 in the opening round, before outplaying Barten 4-6 6-3 6-3 in the second round.
But Sithole could not make it a double after coming short in the quads final against his biggest rival, Wagner.
The American world number two denied the KwaZulu-Natalborn star the singles title in Geneva in 2014 and repeated the feat in this year’s event.
Sithole said he battled with tough wind conditions but admitted that there was still plenty to work on after having his new wheelchair for a short space of time.
“I struggled with the wind, it was very strong today and I couldn’t play my best game. I also have to work on my returns and still getting my way around the new chair,” said the world number three.
The two-time Grand Slam champion will now move on to the German Open, an ITF level 2 event that runs from Wednesday until Sunday in Berlin.