South African disabled wheelchair tennis player Lucas Sithole shone bright at the Airports Company South Africa Open quad singles final on 18 April.
Sithole also known as ‘Twister’, lost a week earlier against the world number one David Wagner at the Gauteng Open final.
“I made a decision and decided that he could not beat me in the final,” said Sithole, a resident in Westdene.
The first set went to Wagner who had the upper hand.
“I made a very sloppy start during the first set. He (Wagner) pushed me to the corner on my backhand and I couldn’t get any rhythm going. Wagner broke me at an early stage and I lost important points.”
Lady Luck started smiling upon Sithole who fought back in the second set. “I started playing my own game and things started to change,” he smiled and continued, “I had a little talk with myself during the break and it helped me to start fighting back.”
Sithole broke Wagner’s serve in the opening game of the final set and he continued to take charge until the ninth game when he broke Wagner again to win the decider. Wagner’s score in the first set was 6–3; Sithole struck back to consecutive scores of 6–3, 6–3.
He explained that this was a huge breakthrough for him as he beat Wagner previously in the 2013 US Open and the Super Series Japan Open in May 2014.
“Those two victories and this victory mean that my coach Holger Losch and I are definitely on the right track with my training and strategies,” added Sithole.
He continued to explain that he is excited about the future and he is hungry for more victories. “I saw lots of kids out there while I was playing and I hope I have inspired them to reach for greater heights. It doesn’t matter where you come from or who you are but with hard work and dedication you can achieve anything you set your mind to,” concluded Sithole.
