Local wheelchair tennis star Lucas Sithole (28) claimed his third Korea Open title with a 6–2; 6–1 clean sweep against fourth-seeded Antony Cotterill of Great Britain on 6 June.
The world number four quad player, and Westdene resident, started off with a strong performance, eliminating Kyu-Seung Kim 6–0; 6–3 in the opening round. Sithole then destroyed Anders Hard in straight sets 6–1; 6–0 to make his way to the semi-final. Sithole was made to work hard for his games to dispatch Japan’s Shota Kawano 6–4; 6–2, before crushing Cotterill in the final. “I came to Seoul to win and the only way I could achieve that was to stay focused and stick to my game plan. I am very delighted for my third title here in Korea,” Sithole said.
Wheelchair Tennis South Africa director and performance coach Holger Losch said, “Our players have been working very hard, and it is so good to see them reaping the rewards. We are thrilled to see Lucas Sithole claiming another title. It was unfortunate that [Kgothatso] KG Montjane could not play due to illness, but despite that she performed extremely well.”
