Day 2 of The Airports Company South Africa Strand Open
Day 2 of the Airports Company South Africa Strand Open produced world class tennis, and epic contests.Fourth seed Leon Els faced a strong challenge from Lucas Sithole, SA’s no 1 quad, but eventually took the match 64 61. In the women’s division firm favourite, Rose van der Meer opened her account with a predictable 60 60 victory over Zintle Platyi. Top seed, Evans Maripa showed no mercy against the hard-working Mzwanele Thintsi’s taking the match by an easy scoreline of 61 61.
The winds of change seem to have been hovering over court 4 where second seed Marshall Marsh was pitted against future star Donald Ramphadi. Although tactics and mind games characterized the match, the crowd was entertained by brilliant displays of rallying and point construction. Marsh, as expected, drew first blood by winning the first set 64. The status quo however changed with Ramphadi clinching the second set 63. This paved the way for the final set where Ramphadi took a 4-2 lead before Marsh came back to even the scores at 4-4. Ramphadi sensing victory broke for a 5-4 lead before serving out the match to confirm a 46 63 64 victory and set up a semi-final outing against Leon Els. The men’s and ladies semi-finals tomorrow will definitely be a show of talent and produce performances which should not be missed.
The ACSA Strand Open is a Future Level Event and seeks to give local players an opportunity to gain world ranking points and experience in their own backyard. It also serves as a perfect environment to introduce new talent to international competitions, and provides them with valuable competitive experience.
Participation in local and international tournaments such as these is made possible by the generous sponsorships offered by Airports Company South Africa, the official sponsor of the sport.
Venue: Strand Tennis Club
Church Street
Strand
Cape Town
Time: 09h00-16h00 daily
Dates : 1 – 4 October 2012
Entrance : FREE
For more information, please contact Bianca Morkel Tel: 083 386 4002 Fax: 086 651 6664 Email: pr@tennis.co.za. Other resources worth a visit include: www.tennis.co.za; our Facebook page: WheelchairTennisSA and/or follow us on Twitter: @WCTennis.