Windhoek
After two previous scheduled junior tournaments had to be cancelled due to low participation the first Namibian Tennis Association junior tournament kicked off at various venues this weekend, including the Central Tennis Courts in Olympia, at Nampol and Eros.
More than 60 kids of ages ranging from 8 to 18 years old showed up with their parents and registered to participate for the singles and doubles matches. Some had travelled from as far as Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Outjo to play for ranking points in the NTA junior ranking list.
In the singles category matches were played in a round robin format giving players a maximum of match contest opportunities.
The scoring of the matches was based on how many points each player collected from the matches that they played. The highlight of the Under-18 singles matches was the clash between Adriaan Bergh from Swakopmund and Windhoek-based Dantago Gawanab.
Bergh was sailing through his singles matches, as he won all of them, but only lost to Gawanab in a tight three-setter: 2-6, 6-3, 2-6. A special prize went to Bronwyn Kavarure, who as the only registered U-18 girl had to play in the boys’ section. She did very well against the strong hitting U-18 boys and earned a noteworthy third position in the U-18 unisex category.
“My matches were quite easy, but when I played against Gawanab he was hitting balls that were very fast. I put up a fight though and I look forward to playing more matches. However, during my first matches I had some problems to adjust to the high altitude and the faster balls here in Windhoek,” the promising player from the coast said.
“The match was very challenging as I was playing against boys, but I tried my level best,” an exhausted Kavarure commented after her final match against Gawanab.
The doubles matches were quite intense, but a lot of support came from the fans that were watching. Josh Barnard and Henry Van Wyk teamed up to go against Daniel Jauss and Daneel van Wyk. The match went to a tiebreak and Jauss and Van Wyk eventually won 5-7, 7-5, 12-10.