RAIN SOAKS TANDZILE, TAKHONA TITLE DECIDER

Matsapha  – The Eswatini Ladies Tennis Tournament final pitting defending champion Tandzile Mavuso against Takhona Khumalo were forced to a halt by the afternoon rain.

The finalists secured their spots in the title decider after a grueling semifinals matched played yesterday at the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) Tennis Court, in Kwaluseni. Mavuso secured a 6:2, 6:0 victory against Nomalungelo Dlamini in the semifinals, while Khumalo won 7-6, 5-7, 10-4 after an intense clash with United States of America-born player Trina Swanson. The Eswatini Tennis Association (ETA) President Derrick Jele said the executive decision was to cancel the final match and have both finalists take home an equal share of a combined total of the champion and the runner-up’s prize of E3 100. The initial championship package was E2 000 and E1 100 for the silver medalists.

thrilling

The finals were bound to be a thrilling contest as Mavuso’s mission was to defend her title and the opponent was all out to dethrone her of her crown after losing the championship in the previous seniors’ tennis tournament. “Overall, the tournament was quite interesting and I enjoyed the semifinals which I won 6-2 6-0. Due to the rain, unfortunately the finals had to be cancelled but I was hoping to defend my title and remain an undefeated champion,” Mavuso said. The challenger expressed her ambitions and experience of the tournament and said: “It was quite a good performance and the standard of play has increased. I was happy with my performance in the semifinals. I didn’t expect much because I did not have much training. I was looking forward to facing Tandzile because I lost to her in the previous tournament but unfortunately the rain happened. It was going to be an exciting game,” Khumalo said.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: