Nokama wins ITF tournament at GETA

Eastern Cape wheelchair tennis player Ntando Nokama clinched the inaugural Ithembelihle ITF Juniors Tournament after beating Daniel van Wyk, from Centurion, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the final at the Gauteng East Tennis Association (GETA) complex in Lakefield on October 4.

Nokama raced into the lead, winning the highly contested first set 6-4. After going down in the second set, there was no fuss or sulk from the champion.

The man from Mdantsane was trailing Van Wyk 4-1, but he recovered to tie the game four-all. Van Wyk, however, showed great character with a few great strokes in the next two games to win the set 4-6.

“Daniel was more determined in the second set. He wanted it more than I did. But I told myself I still had enough time to make amends. I knew I would come back,” said Nokama.

Van Wyk displayed great resilience to come back from one set down to tie the match one-all. He credited this to his never-give-up attitude.

“I never gave up because when you are at your lowest, that is when you are strong because you have nothing to lose,” he said.

The final set saw Nokama race into a 5-2 lead as the 18-year-old Van Wyk couldn’t deal with the high balls. However, the runner-up won the next two games after forcing Nokama into a string of errors to leave the game open.

Nokama was not deterred, as he came back and broke the serve several times in the next two games to take the set.

Nokama, who underwent a double below-the-knees amputation at eight after suffering from an illness, said he almost lost the match because he was not mentally prepared.

“It was a tough game. I didn’t expect to win because of my attitude. If I didn’t work on my attitude, I would have lost. After winning the first few games in the first set, I became determined, hence I won,” he said.

He said Van Wyk was a tactically astute opponent who didn’t give him any options, and because of this, he had to adjust his plan after realising his opponent’s struggles with the high balls.

“I realised he could not deal with the high balls. He also could not track back on time. I adjusted my tactics to take advantage of his weak points,” Nokama said.

Van Wyk, who started playing wheelchair tennis in 2021, said he learned a lot about himself in the tournament and will use this knowledge to adjust his game as he moves into the open leagues.

“It was amazing, but sad that I could not deal with the high balls. Ntando’s top spin lobs were amazing. Congratulations to him, he was really good. I have lots of things to work on. I am moving into the open leagues, as will turn 19 soon. I am also working on getting a bursary to a school in the USA.”

The duo also teamed up in the doubles to take the gold after beating Bongumenzi Biyela and Musa Zondo.

Tennis South Africa (TSA) wheelchair tennis manager, Patrick Selepe, thanked the players and various stakeholders for the success of the tournament, adding that with more support, they could increase the number of these tournaments from next year.

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