Players bring their A-game

NTA hosts senior tournament at Central Tennis Club in Olympia.
Brian Munango
On Saturday 2 July, the National Tennis Association hosted its third senior tournament for the year.

Daniël du Doit, who was the treasurer for the weekend, said: “The turnout was very good, we had a visitor from South Africa who came to take part, which is always great so see”.

A total of 17 players took part in the men’s singles open, with Steyn Dippenaar putting in a brilliant performance and winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 against Risto Shikongo in the finals.

In the men’s doubles open, Risto Shikongo partnered up with Elias Shikongo and they won 6-7, 7-5, 10-8 against Kendall Swartz and SP van Wyk in what was a thrilling match.

In the women’s singles open, number one seed Amanda van Dyk won 6-0, 6-3 against Joanivia Bezuidenhout.

Ndeshipanda David put in a world-class performance against second seed Leandre Louw as she won, 6-1, 6-2.

In the women’s double, David partnered up with Bezuidenhout and they won 6-1, 6-3 against Leandre Louw and Tjijandjeua Mbetjiha.

David got the better of Louw in both matches as she was on top of her game. This was the first time she competed in a senior tour- nament after being on the sidelines for about 10 years.

“I am trying to make a comeback now; it feels good to play again and to take part in tournaments like this. It wasn’t easy because I don’t practice a lot, I only coach; so my tennis is a little rusty,” she added.

She lost in the semi-finals against Bezuidenhout but that didn’t discourage her. “I’m proud of myself, I need to work hard and focus on my fitness because that’s one of the reasons why I lost. I look forward to playing in more tournaments,” David said.