Young tennis ace opens year on a good note
BUDDING tennis ace, Kudzai Chapepa opened the year on a blistering note as she made her way to the finals of the Belgrave Grand Prix she took part in South Africa, last week.
Chapepa (10) entered the tournament unseeded but shocked several players as she fought her way to the final where she lost to the top seed, Marizé Van Rooyen last Monday.
Chapepa dispatched unseeded Joma Viljoen 6-0, 6-0 in the opening round and then beat sixth seed, Botshelo Diseko 6-0, 6-1 in the second round before making light work of fourth seed Hannah Crafford in the quarter-finals by the same margins and then pushed aside second seed, Vanessa Foley in the semi-finals, 6-2, 6-0.
The 10-year-old Carmel pupil then stumbled in the final after a fairy tale run, losing 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the tourney that was played at Belgrave Tennis Club in Pretoria.
Chapepa was excited about the bright start to the year and is hoping to build on to the performance and notch more victories as the year progresses.
“I did not think I will reach the finals but I kept on pushing and I am happy with the way I played. I hope to do well all year round,” she said.
Her coach, Thesly Mufunda said Chapepa exceeded their expectations going into the match as they had only seen her exiting in the early rounds.
“Last time we were in South Africa she lost in the early rounds and this made us lower our expectations going into this event but she surprised us all with her gritty performance as she brushed aside seeded players on her way to the final. She replicated the performance in the doubles section, also losing in the final,” he said.
Mufunda said she hopes Chapepa will build on her performance as she takes part in several other tournaments this year with one of them being the Africa Junior Championships coming up in March.
He said they are praying Chapepa’s performance attracts the attention of national selectors and she gets a call-up to the national juniors’ Under-12 team.
“We will be working on her technique and tactics while also incorporate mental strength training because we believe she lost in the final after struggling to cope mentally despite winning the first set and taking the lead in the second, she struggled to deal with her opponent’s comeback.
“She will be taking part in another tourney in Bloemfontein in April and hope she will clinch that one,” he said.