South Africa’s top junior player, Devin Badenhorst, beat Antoine Ghibaudo from France to win the Curro ITF Junior Grade 2 tournament, securing his first ITF Grade 2 singles title at Curro Hillcrest in Durban this past weekend.
The third-seeded Badenhorst from Pretoria rounded off an impressive week by edging out fourth seed Ghibaudo 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3 in front of his home crowd.
“I feel pretty proud of myself for winning today,” said 18-year-old Badenhorst, who represents the JL Tennis Academy in Pretoria.
According to Badenhorst, he has been working hard lately on his net game and it has been improving – and that’s the way he wants to play.
“This is a very special victory for me on home soil, and I feel very confident going into next week for the Grade 1 tournament,” Badenhorst remarked after his achievement.
The first set was a ding-dong affair but Badenhorst’s enterprise at the end saw him wrap the set 7-6(4) in a tiebreak.
Photo: Tennis SA
After the Frenchman fought back to win the second set 6-4, Badenhorst found his momentum in the third set to brush the Frenchman aside 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3.
The players will now shift their focus to the ITF Junior Grade 1 event at the same venue, which runs from 31 July to 06 August 2022. This Grade 1 competition will be the first-ever ITF Grade 1 event to be held in South Africa.
Last but not least, the third and final tournament of the series will be the Samaai Junior Open, an elite ITF Grade A event to be held at TuksTennis, University of Pretoria.
The Samaai Junior Open, named after South African tennis legend David Samaai, will be held in partnership with TuksSport. This tournament is one of only six junior Grade A tournaments on the international circuit –- the others are held in the United States, Japan, Mexico, Italy, and Brazil.
Outside of the four Junior Grand Slams, Grade A tournaments are the most prestigious events on the ITF Junior Tour and carry the highest-ranking points, which will not only attract some of the world’s best young players to the capital city but will also give young South African prospects a chance to rake in points on home soil.
The Samaai Junior Open will take place from 6 to13 August at Tuks.
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