Tennis ace serves up sensational victory
Botswana’s rising tennis superstar, Mark Nawa was the toast of the court at the weekend, holding his nerve to win the ITF J30 World Tour Juniors tournament on home soil.
Roared on by a packed crowd at the National Tennis Centre in Gaborone, the big-serving 18-year-old triumphed in a tense final that pitted him against his doubles partner and number one seed, Siyabonga Jaca.
After edging a tight first set 7-5, Nawa, seeded second, took control against the South African, cruising to the finish line 6-2 in the second set.
Victory was especially sweet for the teen, after losing in the final of the first ITF J30 tournament on the very same court a week earlier.
It means Nawa is up to 405 in the ITF Junior World Rankings, as he edges towards the top 100 which would see him qualify for the Grand Slams (the big four of tennis: Wimbledon, French, Australian and US Opens).
Divided into two legs, with the action running across two weeks, the event attracted 80 players from around the world, youngsters travelling from as far as United Kingdom, Germany, Czech Republic and America to take part.
Although 18 locals qualified for the main draw, it was only Nawa, with Gold and Silver, and Seabo Saleshando, a runner-up in the doubles, who managed a medal.
In a brief interview with Voice Sport, Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) spokesperson, Matshidiso Malope admitted they had been hoping for more.
“We are not impressed with how we only managed to have two athletes perform better from the possible 18. But mostly we are
delighted with Nawa’s performance, which is really a big achievement.He has added 30 points to his points which will help him with improving his rankings, and will also give him a chance to participate at bigger events such as the Junior Grand Slam in the future” said Malope.
In other tennis news, another of the country’s top young talents, Ntungamili Raguin, 15, was knocked out at the quarter-final stage of the ITF/CAT AJC U/16 tournament in Algeria on Thursday.
The France-based Raguin lost an epic three-set battle against the top seed, Morocco’s Ali Missoum, 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 in a match that lasted almost three hours.