South African Wheelchair tennis champ comes second
WESTDENE – The NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters took place in London where South African wheelchair tennis champion Lucas Sithole did his best against the defending champion.
Lucas Sithole did South Africa proud again, on 6 December. The Westdene resident and wheelchair tennis star secured second place at the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London, in the United Kingdom. He lost against defending champion David Wagner in the final.
The championships took place from 2– 6 December and featured the top four quad players.
Wagner’s victory marked another record, with him winning his eighth masters title to end to Sithole’s hope of becoming the first African to win the masters trophy. Despite this, reaching the finals on Sunday was a symbolic achievement for Sithole, who finished in third place in 2014.
“Although I didn’t win, I played very well. Last year I finished in third place, this year second and hopefully next year I will be first,” Sithole said.
The final was a nail-biting match between the champions when Sithole fought back in the first set from 5–0 down and leveled the score by five all. Wagner won with a strong defeat 7–6 (6) 6–4.
Kgothaso Montjane played well during the women’s event to defeat champion Aniek van Koot 7–6 (4), 6–4 in the opening round. Montjane, who is ranked eighth in the world, defeated Van Koot for the first time. She lost to Japan’s Yui Kamiji in her second match but them defeated Lucy Shuker 7–5, 6–3.
Wheelchair Tennis South Africa general manager Karen Losch said that they are proud of both Sithole and Montjane’s achievements in London.
“This year showed great progress with Sithole finishing in second place after finishing third last year. Montjane also finished in the eighth place last year but this year in seventh place,” Losch said.
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