Namibian top prospects doing well in Maputo

Tennis
Mariud Ngula
  • 1 Day Ago

Three of Namibia’s top tennis prospects are making a strong impression on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) U18 World Junior Tour in Maputo, Mozambique.

Joanivia Bezuidenhout, Mari van Schalkwyk and Israel Dowie are representing the country at the J30 Maputo Tennis Tournament, which started on Tuesday and will run until Sunday.

Competing in a round-robin format across various groups, Bezuidenhout has won both her opening matches in Group F of the girls’ singles 6-0, 6-0.

She first defeated Zimbabwe’s Beaulah Kaseke on Tuesday before repeating the same scoreline against Mozambique’s Nabeelah Real yesterday.

Bezuidenhout will face Canada’s Iman Bajramovic today in a decisive final round-robin match to determine who tops the group and advances to the quarterfinals.

Speaking to Sport Wrap yesterday, Bezuidenhout, who trained with Mozambican Davis Cup coach Bruno Figueiredo ahead of the event, said she is enjoying the tournament.

“This is the first ITF event where I haven’t felt as much pressure as usual. I’ve been approaching the court with a positive mindset, focusing on playing my game rather than the results.

“I’ve come with an aggressive mindset, to have fun and remember why I started playing tennis,” she said.

Meanwhile, in the boys’ singles, Dowie in Group A has also won his first two matches in straight sets. He opened by beating Frenchman Amaury Pierre 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday, then followed it up with another dominant performance, 6-1, 6-1, against India’s Krish Shetty.

His match against South African William Harding today will decide who advances to the quarterfinals.

At the time of going to print yesterday, Van Schalkwyk was still in action against Zimbabwe’s Rutendo Mavhenyengwa.

She had earlier struggled in her opening match, falling 7-5, 1-6, 6-10 in a tense three-set encounter against Canada’s Alexie Duclair.

Van Schalkwyk will face Mozambique’s Melody Mubanguiane today in her final round-robin match.

– mariud@nsh.com.na