Bezuidenhout claims third junior crown

Top tennis prospect Joanivia Bezuidenhout has once again impressed on the local junior circuit, claiming her third title of the year last weekend at the Swakopmund Junior Open.

Bezuidenhout’s dominance has shone through this year, after she started the season on a high by claiming the overall junior title in Windhoek in January, before following up with another title a month later at the same venue.

The Swakopmund Open brought together 58 players from across the country, battling it out across the U10 to U25 categories as they chased crucial ranking points and prizes.

The points contribute towards national team selection and the season-ending Junior Masters Championship, where the country’s junior champion is crowned.

According to the organisers, players are allowed to compete up to the U25 division at junior tournaments, depending on their level of competition, to help improve the overall standard of the sport in the country.

Bezuidenhout competed in the U25 division, which was played in a mixed round-robin format due to insufficient entries to complete separate draws.

Ruthless title run

Her opponents were eventual silver medallist Stephan Koen, who was the only boy in the division, as well as Leandre Louw and Natalia #Ouses.

The U25 gold medallist was ruthless throughout the tournament, winning all three of her round-robin matches in straight sets.

She opened with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over #Ouses, defeated Koen 6-1, 6-4, and closed out her campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Louw.

That saw her finish top of the standings with a maximum six points, a perfect 3-0 win-loss record and a 6-0 sets record. She also posted a 36-13 games won-lost tally across six sets, translating to a 73.47% games-win rate.

Reflecting on her standout performance, Bezuidenhout said winning another U25 title was especially special, although not only because of the title itself.

“It felt great because I enjoyed myself on court and I was relaxed throughout all the matches I played, which is a great feeling to have when playing,” she noted.

She further described the tournament as fun and competitive, saying the coastal environment and playing at sea level are things she “loves”.

Overcoming old rival

Regarding her second match against Koen, she said he is an opponent who has always given her a tough time and often left her second-best in their head-to-head meetings.

“We used to train together from a very young age, and he would always beat me. This was the first time we had played against each other in years, and I beat him,” she said.

“It was also great to see how the younger players were competing against each other. You can definitely see their improvement, confidence and bravery at the event.”

Bezuidenhout now has her sights set on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) U18 Junior World Tennis Tour, specifically the J60 Pretoria tournament starting on 26 May.

Other champions

Other standout players across the lower age categories were as follows:

Junior mixed development: 1 Covenant Mutenda, 2 Juliana Figeretu, 3 Johanna Sikonda.

Boys U16: 1 Gabriel Gurirab, 2 Jesse Eyselle, 3 Aidan Matroos.

There were no entries in the girls’ U16 category.

Boys U14: 1 Joshua Diergaardt, 2 Pameni Paulus, 3 Shafiishuna Shimali.

Girls U14: 1 Milan de Lange, 2 Janice Bezuidenhout, 3 Azalia #Nauises.

Boys U12: 1 Adriaan Tromp, 2 Ilan Aisindi, 3 Marcel Diehl.

Girls U12: 1 Mia Lacock, 2 Svantje Marais, 3 Svea Marais.

Mixed U10: 1 Pwoove Paulus, 2 GJ Visser, 3 Faan Vermaak.

Over 70 matches played

Organisers confirmed that the tournament served up more than 70 matches over two days.

“Several matches had to be played under the lights during the evening due to the high number of fixtures. We were encouraged by the participation of several new players from Outjo and Otjiwarongo.

“This event was all thanks to the good cooperation, patience and sacrifice shown by players, parents and officials,” they said.

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