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Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S girls top player Nicole Dzenga bowed out of the International Tennis Federation South Central African Junior Circuit Under-18 yesterday when she lost to top seed Theresa Van Zyl in Windhoek, Namibia. Dzenga lost to Van Zyl of South Africa 7-6(1), 6-3 in yesterday’s semi-finals.
Van Zyl takes on second seed, Lesedi Jacobs, from Namibia in the finals today.
Jacobs beat Lize-Elfrida Moolman 6-3, 6-4 in the other semi-final.
In the doubles finals Dzenga and Moolman found the going tough as they were dismissed 6-1, 6-0 by the pair of Van Zyl and Jacobs.
After reaching the singles finals and winning the doubles title last month in the same circuit that was held at Harare Sports Club, Dzenga had remained the country’s hopeful in this tournament.
She was the only Zimbabwean player on course yesterday after the other players were eliminated in the early rounds of the tournament.
Zimbabwe had seven players competing in this tournament with some of them having participated in the same circuit held here last month.
Most of them were sent packing in the early stages of that competition with only two players Courtney Lock and Dzenga doing well as they both won the doubles titles in the boys and girls section respectively.
Lock reached the boys singles semi-finals in the first leg while Dzenga lost in the finals in the second leg of that tournament.
And the failure by the juniors to do well in Namibia continues to expose lack of competition locally and the effects of lack of sponsorship which has seen most of the players struggling to compete in tournaments outside the country.
This means they don’t get international exposure compared to their counterparts from countries such as South Africa.
They will now be hoping for better fortunes when they take part in the second leg next week.
Online Reporter