The final day of the Growthpoint Junior Nationals came to an exciting conclusion in Mangaung on Monday and it was the South African teen sensation Kholo Montsi and Bloemfontein’s Delien Kleinhans who claimed top honours in the under-18 category.
Montsi, who was playing his last Junior Nationals, was up against second seed Damien Nezar from Eden and played dazzling tennis to win the match 6-2 6-0 to capture the title.
“I felt great being on court in my last Junior Nationals tournament. This one (the tournament) meant a lot to me as it is my last time playing and realizing that I'm officially done with juniors. I was on a mission to not just win matches but to dominate every match so I can definitely say that, the mission has been accomplished,” commented Montsi following his match.
“It was also great just to be around my friends again because we barely see each other during the year so I'm glad I came down to Bloemfontein to compete for the last time,” added Montsi.
In the girl’s final, Kleinhans edged out second seed Kelly Arends from Western Cape 6-1 6-2 to secure the Nationals crown.
In other results, Leigh van Zyl from the Winelands rallied back in the girls U/16 final, after dropping the first set, to win 4-6 6-4 6-1 against Erin Mckenzie (Gauteng East). Gauteng Central’s Jordan Georgiev also had to dig deep in the boys U/14 showpiece match to beat top seed Leo Matthysen from the Western Cape 6-7(3) 7-6(6) 6-4.
Carli Kruger, also from the Winelands region, survived a closely contested battle against MariLouise van Zyl, from the North West, to lift the girls under 14 singles title. Kruger defeated Van Zyl 6-3 3-6 7-5.
Meanwhile top seeds Connor Doig (KwaZulu-Natal) and Morgan Jordaan (Gauteng North) secured the boys and girls under 12 singles titles, respectively.
Singles
Final Results
Boys
Under-18
1-Kholo Montsi (WP) bt 2-Damien Nezar (EDE) 6-2 6-0
Under-16
1-Devin Badenhorst (GN) bt 8-Wian Roothman (GC) 6-2 6-3
Under-14
2-Jordan Georgiev (GC) bt 1-Leo Matthysen (WP) 6-7(3) 7-6(6) 6-4
Under-12
1-Connor Doig (KZN) bt 7-Siyabonga Jaca (KZN) 6-0 6-3
Girls
Under-18
1-Delien Kleinhans (FS) bt 2-Kelly Arends (WP) 6-1 6-2
Under-16
1-Leigh van Zyl (BOL) bt Erin Mckenzie (GE) 4-6 6-4 6-1
Under-14
4-Carli Kruger (BOL) bt 3-MariLouise van Zyl (NW) 6-3 3-6 7-5
Under-12
1-Morgan Jordaan (GN) bt 4-Allegra van der Walt (NW) 6-3 6-3