• KONTINENANDPEERSDELIVER A PERFECT 10

London; It was so very close for Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram in London but on the day their opponents had the edge.
Henri Kontinen and John Peers finished their debut season with the perfect ending on Sunday in London. The pairing won the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals doubles title during their team debut, beating fellow first-timers Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram 2-6, 6-1, 10-8 at The O2.
Kontinen, of Finland, and Peers, of Australia, finish the season on a 10-match win streak, dating back to their first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris earlier this month. They also finish 2016 with five ATP World Tour titles, including crowns in Brisbane, Munich and Hamburg.
Seventh seeds Klaasen/Ram were going for their biggest team title, and the South African and American started strong. They broke twice in the first set and erased all three break points faced to breeze through the 30-minute opener.
Before Sunday, Kontinen/Peers had been broken only twice all tournament, having gone 41/43 on serve during their 4-0 match start. But they rebounded in the second set, breaking Ram to love to lead 2-0. They broke again when Klaasen guided a forehand volley wide and would soon even the match.
Klaasen/Ram regrouped in time for the Match Tie-break, and the teams were tied at 8/8 when Klaasen stepped to the line for a second serve. Kontinen took advantage of the softer offering, though, slapping a backhand that Ram couldn’t handle at the net. On the next point, Peers struck a service winner down the T for their biggest title to date.
Jeff Coetzee, touring coach of Klaasen/Ram said that his charges always knew the final was going to be a tough challenge. “Obviously there is disappointment in the camp especially with the final being so close. After yesterday’s semi-final performance against new world number 1 pair Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares, the momentum was with Raven and Rajeev and I felt that they would have a far better shot at the win today in the final than they had against Kontinen/Peers in the group round-robin.”
Coetzee said that the match was very close and basically was decided on one or two points in the deciding match tie-breaker. “Raven and Rajeev were holding Kontinen/Peers in the breaker but at 8/8 Raven played a safer serve and Kontinen aggressively took advantage with his favourite backhand up the line overpowering Rajeev.”
Coetzee ended by saying that he was extremely proud of Klaasen/Ram and their performance not only in the ATP Finals but throughout the season. “Raven and Rajeev have had a great consistent season ending the year 7th on the world team rankings beating every other top team other than Kontinen/Peers throughout the year.”
Kontinen/Peers will receive 1,500 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split $455,000 in prize money. Klaasen/Ram will receive 800 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split $245,000.
Ends.

• South African face Estonia in first ever Davis Cup meeting on home soil

Pretoria, South Africa – The Irene Country Club in Centurion, Pretoria is becoming the popular hunting ground for the South African Davis Cup team.
For the fifth consecutive year, Tennis South Africa (TSA) have announced that they will return to the picturesque country club for next year’s all-important Euro/Africa Davis Cup Group II first round tie vs Estonia from 3-5 February.
This will be the first time that South Africa and Estonia have met in Davis Cup competition.
South Africa, seeded 8 in the Group are ranked 58 on the Davis Cup world rankings, 22 spots ahead of Estonia who are at 80.
The announcement of Irene Country Club as venue was welcomed by South African Davis Cup Captain, Marcos Ondruska.
“I’m delighted we will be back at Irene Country Club for Davis Cup early next year. We have enjoyed great support from the people of Gauteng over the years when playing home ties at Irene and the faster court and altitude will play in the favour of South Africa.”
A dominant South African Davis Cup team romped to a 5-0 win over Luxembourg at the same venue in March this year.
Of the ties played at Irene in the past four years, South Africa have beaten Monaco 3-2 (January 2013), Ireland 5-0 (July 2015) and Luxembourg. The only loss South Africa have had at Irene was against Lithuania 2-3 (April 2014).
This year South Africa suffered a heartbreaking 2-3 defeat to Lithuania away in July, but remained in Euro/Africa Zone Group II after beating Luxembourg.
Estonia were promoted to Group II after winning their Group III competition at home this year.
Newly appointed TSACEO, Richard Glover, who will oversee his for Davis Cup tie said “The Irene Country Club is a beautiful, family friendly venue for tennis and this year we are spending more time on enhancing the spectator experience. It promises to be three days of cracking action and I really hope tennis fans turn out in their droves to support the team.”
The winner of the tie will play the winner of the Monaco v Slovenia tie in April 2017. The loser will play in the Euro/Africa Zone Group II playoffs against the loser of the Monaco v Slovenia tie, also in April 2017.

Pretoria, South Africa - Tennis South Africa (TSA) extended their congratulations to Wheelchair Tennis South Africa (WTSA) General Manager, Karen Losch, on being awarded South African Sport Administrator of The Year.
Losch was given the award at the prestigious SA Sport Awards ceremony hosted by the Department of Sport and Recreations in Mangaung on Sunday evening.
TSACEO, Richard Glover, said his association applauded Karen Losch on receiving the award and gave credit for her outstanding work in managing WTSA and promoting the organization. “This is an amazing achievement and is richly deserved. Karen is a world class administrator and she is a shining light for Wheelchair Tennis in this country. Our sport is very lucky to have her.”
WTSA is an affiliate member of TSA and holds a seat on the TSA Board. Both associations are affiliated to the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Kempton Park, South Africa - It’s been the best of years, it’s been the worst of years for Irvette van Zyl.

But the positive side of 2016 was foremost on Thursday night, when Van Zyl collected her third SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge Grand Prix award at a glittering ceremony at Emperor’s Palace.
Van Zyl, who gave birth to her first child in September last year, had a great start to the year. She appeared unstoppable; winning every race she took part in, including the SPAR women’s races in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban.
She was selected to run the women’s marathon at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and everything seemed to be going swimmingly.
But at the Olympic Games, her world came crashing around her ears. She developed a stress fracture in her foot, and had to withdraw from the marathon.
“I was devastated,” said Van Zyl.
“I didn’t finish the marathon at the London Olympics, because of an injury, and I wanted to make up for that by doing well in Rio. I am not normally prone to stress fractures, so this was a terrible blow. After going to two Olympic Games, I still can’t call myself an Olympian.”
Van Zyl came back from Rio and started intensive rehabilitation, but she was unable to take part in the Pretoria SPAR Challenge.
“I was really worried – I was on top of the Grand Prix table, but I was worried that one of the Phalula twins could overtake me,” she said.
Van Zyl eventually started training again a couple of weeks before the last and deciding Grand Prix in Johannesburg. But on race day, she put any doubts about her fitness to rest, leading from start to finish and winning the race in record time to clinch victory in the Grand Prix by 21 points.
It was her third Grand Prix victory, putting her on a par with Rene Kalmer, who also has three Grand Prix titles to her name. Van Zyl previously won in 2010 and 2011.
Last year’s winner, Lebogang Phalula was second, with 79 points and Christine Kalmer was third, with 70. Van Zyl collected a cheque for R160 000, Phalula took home R53 000 and Kalmer R32 000.
“I am so happy to have won the Grand Prix. It has helped to make up for my huge disappointment at the Olympic Games,” said Van Zyl.
“I want to thank SPAR for all they have done for road running. The Grand Prix has been going for 10 years now and it has added an extra dimension to the SPAR Challenge races. The thought of the very generous prize money is a great incentive on those cold winter mornings when you really don’t want to get out of bed and train.
“The Grand Prix has ensured that the top runners take part in as many races as they can, which means the competition is very stiff. Congratulations to SPAR and I wish them many more successful years with the Grand Prix.”
SPAR Group Marketing Executive Mike Prentice said SPAR was very proud of the Grand Prix and the achievements of the top runners.
“The SPAR Grand Prix, which allows our top end athletes a chance to compete for year-end glory, complements each of the SPAR Women’s Challenge races and over the past 10 years has elevated the series to one of the biggest athletics brands in the country,” said Prentice.
“SPAR is passionate about women and the promotion of women across the sporting spectrum and our involvement through sponsorship of women’s sports over the years is testament to that commitment,” he said.
“Congratulations to Irvette on her splendid victory and congratulations to all the other top runners. I also love the wonderful spirit of camaraderie among our top runners, who try their hardest on the road, and then hug one another at the finish.”

Durban, South Africa - The city of eThekwini has rolled out the red carpet for the world’s best netball players, who will be taking part in the third leg of the SANZEA Quad Series, featuring Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa.
Welcoming the players at a function in the Durban International Convention Centre, Councillor Mxolisi Mzimbovu said the Quad Series was good for the city, and good for netball.
“We have top of the range infra-structure here, and Durban is the warmest city in South Africa,” he said.
“The eThekwini Metropolitan Council supports netball at community level, and we are delighted to welcome the best netballers in the world to our beautiful city. I am sure that seeing these players in action will inspire the young players in Durban to great heights.”
Netball South Africa (NSA) President Mimi Mthethwa said it was a dream come true to welcome the top three teams in the world.
“Our drawcard is the opening match between the Australian Diamonds and the New Zealand Silver Ferns on Saturday afternoon. These two teams have dominated world netball for many years, and the rivalry is intense. I hope people will turn out in their numbers to watch this mouth-watering match and then stay on to see the SPAR Proteas in action against the England Roses,” said Mthethwa.
“This is just the beginning. Perhaps one day we will be in the top three.”
England coach Tracey Neville said she and her team had been overwhelmed by the hospitality in Durban.
“We are loving our time here, and we are making the most of our time in this lovely city. I am sorry that I can’t promise the same weather when the Quad Series moves to England next month,” she said.
“The welcome we received at King Shaka Airport was amazing, and moved us to tears of joy,” said Australian coach Lisa Alexander.
“We are excited to be here, and we look forward to the match against the Silver Ferns on Saturday, and to playing the SPAR Proteas on Tuesday.”
Proteas captain Bongi Msomi said she was thrilled to be playing the best teams in the world at home.
“It is a privilege to play these teams, and just watch us on court. You will see how happy we are by the way we play.”

Durban, South Africa - There was heartbreak for South Africa in their SANZEA Quad Series netball match against England at the Durban ICC Arena on Saturday.
After fighting back from a 11-goal deficit at halftime, the SPAR Proteas were level on 48-all at fulltime but the more experienced England team won the match 60-55 in extra time.
It was South Africa’s best performance against a top three team since 2013, when they beat a second-strong England team.
The SPAR Proteas started strongly, taking the early lead, and it took England 10 minutes to draw level on 7-all. They ended the first quarter 11-8 ahead, and by halftime they led by 28 goals to 17.
Shortly after the start of the second quarter, Proteas coach Norma Plummer brought Izette Lubbe on for Bongi Msomi at wing attack, and she replaced Renske Stoltz with Lindie Lombard at goal attack in the third quarter. Lombard, who has been plagued with injuries, and has been in and out of the squad, brought new energy to the South Africans, who scored eight goals to one in the first four minutes. Boosted by the vociferous support of the crowd, the Proteas won the quarter by 17 goals to 11 and in the fifth minute of the final quarter, they drew level at 40-all. From then on, the lead changed hands minute by minute. Just before fulltime, South Africa scored but the umpire ruled that centre Erin Burger’s knee had been over the line, and disallowed the goal.
Plummer was delighted with the team’s performance and said it was a sign of how far they had come.
“I thought they were outstanding,” she said.
“That 11-goal turnaround – you don’t often get that. We did actually have the game and then the umpire decided Erin’s knee was over the line. But it’s the first time they have taken a top three team into overtime, so you have to admire what they did.
“Lindie came on and she played a blinder. She brought us back into the whole match.”
Plummer said Australia would be another step up for the team, but South Africa had nothing to lose.
“We don’t want to play teams below us, we want to challenge the top teams,” she said.
England coach Tracey Neville said South Africa came out as hard in the third quarter as they had in the first.
“We weren’t expecting that, and I think we were too casual. We gave cheap ball away and we stopped driving, and you get crucified by any team when you do that,” said Neville.
“I think their two tactical changes were crucial. We didn’t adapt to that well. The wing attack helped get the ball into the top of their circle, and Lombard offered (goalshooter) Lenise Potgieter more opportunities.”
Earlier, the Australian Diamonds proved once again why they are number one in the world with a clinical 57-50 victory over the New Zealand Ferns in the opening match.
Australia stamped their authority from the start, and it was only in the fifth minute that New Zealand were able to score their first goal. The Diamonds led 16-10 after the third quarter and 30-23 at halftime. With some outstanding shooting by Bailey Mes and the charismatic Maria Tutaia, New Zealand were able to reduce the deficit to three goals, but each time they did so, Australia came back to stretch the goal deficit again. Australia won the third quarter 15-14, but with the crowd behind them, cheering every goal, New Zealand won the last quarter 13-12. Once again, New Zealand came within three goals of Australia, but each time they did so, Australia counter-attacked and surged ahead again.
Goal attack Susan Pettitt, making her first appearance for Australia in three and a half years, slotted seamlessly back into the team and was named player of the match for her performance.
“I am so happy to be back,” she said.
“I have been working very hard and it felt really good to be on court for Australia again. I think we are doing well because we have confidence in one another.”
Australian coach Lisa Alexander said she was disappointed that they had lost the final quarter.
“We set ourselves targets and one of these is to win all four quarters. So we still have plenty to work on. But I am thrilled that we executed our plans so well against top quality opposition.”
Captain Sharni Layton said the vocal support for New Zealand had affected the Diamonds in the final quarter.
“We enjoyed the hype, but we know that it is going to be even more when we play South Africa on Tuesday. We know we will have to concentrate on our own game and not get caught up in the hype.”

Durban, South Africa - After a day of relaxation following their thrilling match against England on Saturday, the SPAR Proteas were hard at work on Monday preparing for their Quad Series match against world champions Australia on Tuesday night.
Fifth-ranked South Africa forced third-ranked England into extra time, drawing 48-all at fulltime. The more experienced England Roses won the match by 60 goals to 55, but the Proteas could hold their heads high after storming back from an eleven-goal deficit at halftime.
Head coach Norma Plummer said they had watched video footage of the match and analysed where they had gone wrong and what they needed to work on.
“Our start wasn’t good and we weren’t on the money on the shots. We were letting ourselves down and we weren’t converting, so those are two of the areas we will work on,” said Plummer.
She said she would not necessarily have the same starting line-up for the match against Australia.
“I’m running the third end players at the moment,” she said.
“I still have some options I want to look at. The Commonwealth Games are next year, not this year, and I want to make sure by the time we get to the Commonwealth Games we’ve picked the right blend and have all the options in the players we select.”
Assistant coach Jenny van Dyk said there was a vast difference between England and Australia.
“The Aussies have been at the forefront of netball for quite a while and the amount of match opportunities they have is really what sets them apart,” said Van Dyk.
“We will spend time this afternoon planning our strategy for the Australian match, and working on our own game plan.”
“As much as we did well against England, tomorrow is going to be much tougher said assistant coach Dumisane Chauke.
“We’ve been playing more with the top three in the world, and the more we play them, the better we’ll get. We’ll be focussing on what we can do as a team and keeping the South African flair will do wonders for us.
“We’re probably going to focus on the goal circle players and getting the feeds into the circle. Playing the triangle and forcing our goalshooters not to move around so much, but to play to their strengths. Lenise Potgieter is the standing, holding shooter and we’ll be focussing on that in preparation for tomorrow’s game,” said Chauke.
The match will be played at the Durban International Convention Centre at 7 o’clock on Tuesday night. The Proteas set off almost immediately after that for the United Kingdom, where the fourth and final leg of the SANZEA Quad Series will be played.

Durban, South Africa - The SPAR Proteas fought gallantly against the Australian Diamonds in their Quad Series match in Durban on Tuesday. Although the visitors beat them 62-46, it was the Proteas’ narrowest margin of defeat ever against the world champions.
The South Africans did not start well, and it was only in the fifth minute that they were able to score. Goal attack Vanes-Mari du Toit, playing for the Proteas for the first time since 2013, looked nervous and rusty, and muffed several shots at goal. Coach Norma Plummer took her off at the end of the first quarter, when Australia were leading by 17 goals to nine.
Lindie Lombard, who had such an impact on the match against England on Saturday, once again influenced proceedings when she came on for Du Toit. Plummer also brought veteran player Precious Mthembu on for Juline Rossouw at wing defence. Goal attack Karla Mostert has to leave the court because of a blood injury, and her presence was missed in the second and third quarters. By halftime, Australia had increased their lead to 11 goals (31-20) and it appeared the Diamonds might run away with the match.
In the third quarter, the Proteas seemed to lose focus and the Diamonds stretched their lead to 45-30, but in the final quarter, with Mostert back in action, the Proteas came back strongly, losing the quarter by just one goal, despite goalkeeper Phumza Maweni being sent off for two minutes, leaving Mostert alone in the circle.
Centre Erin Burger had an outstanding match, and was well supported by Mthembu and captain and wing attack Bongi Msomi.
Plummer said she was “quietly pleased” with the outcome of the match.
“We used to lose to Australia by more than 50 goals, and we got it down to 16,” she said.
“We’re in there – we just have to learn to be more consistent. There is still a lot of work to be done. We turned over some balls but there were times when we lost the ball in the circle, so there was no benefit from the turnovers.”
She said Du Toit was a very skilled player, but she had been out of netball for some time with an injury.
“I wanted to see how she played, because I want to see the depth of the players around the starting seven,” said Plummer.
She said it was important for the players to develop more muscle and power if they were to compete at the top level.
Australian coach Lisa Alexander said South Africa were closing in on the top teams.
“They need more control over their bodies, and they have to increase their mental toughness and resilience,” she said.
“But they are pushing the top teams. However, Australia, New Zealand and England are all fully professional, whereas the South Africans are amateurs.”
The Proteas leave for the United Kingdom on Wednesday for the final leg of the quad series. They will play New Zealand in London on Saturday night.

• SA captain, Marcos Ondruska upbeat about his team’s chances vs Estonia
• Estonia quietly confident ahead of Davis Cup weekend

Irene, Pretoria, South Africa – South African Davis Cup captain, Marcos Ondruska announced 19 year old Lloyd Harris and Nik Scholtz as his number one and number two nominated singles players at the official draw for this weekend’s clash.
Euro Africa Group 2 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas tie between South Africa and Estonia. The tie will be played at the Irene Country Club, Pretoria from 3-5 February 2017.
South Africa’s top 15 ranked world doubles player, Raven Klaasen, will spearhead the South African doubles challenge and Ondruska nominated, Ruan Roelofse, as his partner for the doubles rubber on Saturday.
World number 517 Nik Scholtz, will get South Africa’s weekend campaign under way against Estonia tomorrow (Friday, 03 February 2017) at 10h00 South African time following the opening ceremony at 09h45. Scholtz name was drawn from the hat first by Irene Country Club President, Henry Van Der Byl and will open against Estonian number one, Jurgen Zopp ranked 317. This will be the first time that the two have met.
This will be followed by the second singles rubber between Lloyd Harris, South Africa’s number one nominated player and Estonian number two Vladimir Ivanov, ranked 288 and 442, respectively. The two will also be meeting for the first time.
On Saturday at 12 noon, SA time, Raven Klaasen and Ruan Roelofse will team up and play against Kenneth Raisma and Mattias Siimar.
On Sunday the reverse singles will be played from 10h00 with the number one players battling it out first, then followed by the number two players.
The draw for the first round Group 2 Europe/Africa tie was conducted at the Irene Dairy Farm today (Thursday, 02 February 2017).
South African captain Marcos Ondruska and his team remain upbeat yet cautious about their chances this weekend. “We have the best possible side experience wise for this tie. I am very happy with how we have been preparing. And Wayne Ferreira, my consultant coach, and I are happy with the way the players are striking the ball and adapting to the conditions”
Ondruska said that he believed the team assembled for this weekend is the best for the job. “My boys are passionate about playing for their country and will do us all proud following a very happy mood in the camp. We are at the building stage and working our way to a spot in the World Group.”
The most senior South African player in the team Raven Klaasen said he was happy that Roelofse had been named as his partner for Saturday as the two have played successfully together before.
“I see this as an opportunity to nail down the tie in the doubles rubber on Saturday,” said Klaasen. “Ruan and I have a good record together and hopefully by the time we play the doubles South Africa will be leading so that we can sew up the result before the start of Sunday’s reverse singles.”
This is the fourth time the two will have partnered each other in Davis Cup competition.

Scholtz admitted he wasn’t an “early bird” but seeing his name had come out the hat first he would have to adjust and be prepared. “I will just have to wake up that little earlier and get to the courts early to prepare for my rubber. I have all my family coming to watch so it’s very exciting.”

Estonian’s top player Jurgen Zopp said his team were improving with the change in altitude day by day. “We are hitting the ball much better day by day. When we arrived the altitude was a challenge but we feeling better about that and the court; and today we will complete our preparations and be as ready as ever for South Africa.”
Zopp said that although he was not nominated for the doubles he would be ready to play on all three days. “I have played many ties for Estonia and have played singles and doubles so I am ready for whatever my captain decides.”

This is the first time that the two nations have met in Davis Cup competition.

The upcoming Davis Cup tie between South Africa and Estonia will be game, set and match for tennis fans after Vodacom secured the rights to live stream the action from the Irene Country Club 3-5 February.

With only a few available court-side seats still available, Vodacom live! will be the only place for supporters to watch South Africa battle it out in their Euro/Africa Group 2 tie.

A new energy is sweeping through South African tennis, and thanks to Vodacom Live! the country’s impending rise will be documented to fans throughout the country.

Under the guidance of former South African tennis professional Marcos Ondruska and with the help of South African tennis legend Wayne Ferreira, the Davis Cup team has its sights set firmly on returning to the prestigious World Group.

Considered to be the World Cup of Tennis, the Davis Cup is contested between the world’s best men’s national teams dating back to 1900.

South Africa won the Davis Cup title in 1974 and competed in the World Group between 1995 and 1998 which included Ferreira and Ondruska.

Rising star Lloyd Harris is expected to spearhead South Africa’s charge in the singles while the country’s top doubles player Raven Klaasen and Ruan Roelofse are set to take care of business on the Saturday.

Davis Cup ties include two singles rubbers on the first day (Friday, 10h00 start), a doubles rubber on the second day (Saturday, 12h00 start) and finally two singles rubbers on the third day (Sunday, 10h00 start). The first team to claim three rubbers is declared the winner of the tie.

Vodacom will ensure supporters don’t miss a single piece of the action from the first serve to the very last match.

“Vodacom are delighted to be able to bring South African fans the action from the tennis court live to wherever they are,” said Ashraff Paruk, Vodacom’s Managing Executive for Digital Services.
“South African tennis has a clear vision for the sport and we are excited to play a part to bring the game to its supporters.”

SA Davis Cup star, Raven Klaasen, said that the live streaming partnership was a major boost for tennis in the country. “It’s so important that, in order to develop the game in South Africa, we reach tennis fans across all communities. The team and I are delighted that our on court magic can be shared to a larger audience”.
“This is a new era for TSA and we are looking to re-position the Federation as one that is innovative, nimble and dynamic. The way South Africans are consuming video content is changing and sports organisations in this country need to engage with potential new audiences in a proactive manner. This is a giant leap into the future for tennis in South Africa,” concluded Richard Glover, CEO of TSA.

Vodacom live! is free to browse from your Vodacom cell phone and includes other awesome features such as music downloads, news and chat services, and a hub to download the latest games.

How to get Vodacom live!

You will need a data-enabled smartphone to watch.

Visit live.vodacom.co.za and click on the Davis Cup links as advertised on the page or in the menu, and register for the stream.

Or, simply click on the link below and register.
http://live.vodacom.co.za/vlive/portal_page_daviscup

One lucky registered user could also win a Samsung S7 smartphone, kindly sponsored by Samsung.

Other network subscribers will be able to register and enjoy the live streaming facility.

• South Africa lead Estonia 2-0 after day one of Davis Cup

Pretoria, South Africa – The KIA South African Davis Cup team made a solid start against Estonia on day one of their Davis Cup tie vs Estonia at the Irene Country Club in Pretoria on Friday.

South Africa won both singles rubbers giving them a 2-0 lead against the visitors.

Nik Scholtz, the South African number two opened procedures and was leading Jürgen Zopp, the top seeded Estonian player 4-6 6-4 6-3 when Zopp fell to the court with an abdominal injury and was forced to retire from the rubber after 2 hours 11 minutes of play.
Scholtz started slowly and after losing the first set, regrouped and found his rhythm late in the second set, using his big serve and powerful ground strokes to break Zopp in the tenth game and win the set and level matters.

In the third set, Scholtz saved break points in the opening two games and in the fifth game was 0-40 down on serve but aced his way out of trouble, found the break in the eighth game and held on to win the third set 6-3.

“It’s not nice to be injured during a match and I feel for Jürgen” said Scholtz. “But I really turned things around and although we didn’t finish the match I felt I was in control and won that match and I’ll take the win regardless. Yip it is a bit of an anti-climax not having won a full match but I’ll take the win and felt good being declared the victor” continued Scholtz.

Zopp said he was bitterly disappointed for him and his team having to retire during the match. “After the first set I felt I was in control but unfortunately the serve is such an important part of the game especially up here at altitude and I really could not do anything with the pain. Injuries are part of sport and unfortunately they seem to always come at the wrong time. I feel disappointed not only for me but also for my team as I knew how important this point was for us to win.”

In the second singles rubber, South Africa’s number one Lloyd Harris impressively beat Estonian Vladimir Ivanov 6-4 6-3 6-2 in 1 hour 56 minutes..

Harris was fast out the starting blocks but Ivanov held on strong. Harris eventually found his first break of serve in the tenth game to win the opening set 6-4. From that point Harris dominated throughout losing only five games in the last two sets.

“I was really happy out there today, I played solid and made a good start which always helps. I’m pleased I have been able to take South Africa to a 2-0 lead after day one” said Harris.

Marcos Ondruska the South Africa team captain said he was extremely satisfied after day one. “I could not have wished for a better start. My boys played well and I know my doubles team will go to bed tonight and sleep better with us being 2-0 up. But credit to our Estonian opponents who despite the challenges facing them have conducted themselves very well. They have some talented youngsters in their team and two are left handers which makes it tricky but my boys are well prepared and we hope that on Saturday we can seal a win.”

Johannesburg, South Africa -The SPAR Proteas conclude their inaugural SANZEA netball Quad Series programme on Sunday, when they take on the world number two team, the New Zealand Silver Ferns, at the SSE Arena at Wembley in London.
The SPAR Proteas will be buoyed by their performance in the South African leg of the series, when they came close to beating the England Roses and lost to Australia by just 16 goals – the smallest margin ever.
The South Africans flew to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, after the biggest netball event ever staged in South Africa, where netball fans were treated to a netball bonanza, with a match between the two best teams in the world, Australia and New Zealand, as well as the matches between South Africa and England and South Africa and Australia.
Head coach Norma Plummer said after the match between the SPAR Proteas and the Australian Diamonds, which the Diamonds won 62-46, that she was ‘quietly pleased’ with the SPAR Proteas’ progress.
“We are in there,” she said. “We’re definitely making progress, although there’s a long way to go.
“The top three teams are fully professional, which makes it easier for them to train together.
“We’re a long way from becoming professional. It took Australia a long, long time before their players were paid. So we have a fair way to go.”
Goalshooter Siggie Burger, who was originally in the squad for the United Kingdom leg of the Series, had to stay at home after injuring her knee, but Lindie Lombard, who was very influential in the SPAR Proteas’ match against England last Saturday, obtained an emergency visa at the last minute and travelled to London with the rest of the squad.
South Africa’s defenders will have their work cut out against the Silver Ferns’ attack, particularly vice captain Maria Tutaia, whose serenity on court belies her determination to win.
South Africa beat New Zealand to reach the final of the netball world cup in Birmingham in 1995, but have not managed to get the upper hand over the Silver Ferns since then. However, the SPAR Proteas are not thinking about history, but looking ahead.

Pretoria, South Africa – South African Davis Cup captain, Marcos Ondruska confirmed that former South African world top ten player, Wayne Ferreira would consult to his Davis Cup team.

Ondruska confirmed this at the pre-draw media conference held on Tuesday at the Irene Country Club in Pretoria.

South Africa will play Estonia in the Euro Africa Group II tie this coming weekend at Irene Country Club.

“I am delighted to confirm that Wayne has agreed to act as a consultant to me and the team in Davis Cup and we look forward to him helping us with our aims and objectives to get the country back into the World Group” said Ondruska.

Ferreira said that he was delighted to be able to help his ‘best friend’ Ondruska out and said that Tennis South Africa (TSA) were wise in appointing Ondruska as Davis Cup captain. “Marcos has a wealth of experience under his belt not only as a player but more so as a Davis Cup player. We are best of friends and for a long time Marcos has been speaking to be about giving something meaningful back to the game in his home country and I wanted to help him out in his role as Davis Cup captain, so I agreed to take on the consultant role.”

“We collectively have a plan for Davis Cup in South Africa and know exactly where we want to be in a few years’ time. I hope to play a role in the success of those objectives, have seen the talent we have on offer that can boost the Davis Cup team efforts and combined with the experience of the older players, lots can be achieved” added former world number 6 Ferreira.

Ondruska said that that the mood in his squad was good since jetting into the country on Sunday. “We are delighted to be back as a team at Irene Country Club, a fantastic venue that has been very kind to us and offered us incredible service and hospitality.”

The South African captain also complimented TSA on securing sponsorship deals with KIA Motors South Africa and computer software company Axnosis for the tie.

Raven Klaasen said he was happy to be back playing in the country wearing the green and gold. “Davis Cup is really special to me and an important part of my schedule. When you wear the green and gold and go onto court is very different as you not only playing for yourself, but your team and country.”

Klaasen, the country’s top ranked doubles player(13) is expected to spearhead the South African doubles challenge on Saturday with Ruan Roelofse.

Lloyd Harris said he was in good shape after a long end season break and good preparation following the break. “I had a long hard 2016 where I played a lot of matches and had great success. I had a good break and then good preparation for the new season and feel I am in the best shape I have ever been and ready to give it my all this weekend.” Harris is the highest ranked South African singles player(284) in the team and should be named by Ondruska as the countries number one singles nomination at the official draw on Thursday.

Ondruska has not decided on who he will play in the number two singles spot with hometown boy Tucker Vorster and Nik Scholtz contenders. “It’s still too early for me to make a call on my final line up. We have a few more days of practise which will allow me the chance to see the form of the players and make my final decision” said Ondruska.

Estonia, who arrived in the country on Sunday – have had little time to feel the court and altitude due to the rain over Gauteng on Monday.

Jürgen Zopp, Estonia’s top ranked player(317) said that the rain had affected their preparation but they would double up on practise Tuesday and Wednesday to be best prepared come tie day Friday. “We all have never been to South Africa and are not accustomed to altitude so we going to need to work hard to be prepared” said Zopp.

Estonian captain, Ekke Tiidemann said “Our team is a mixture of experience and youth and I feel we have a good synergy in the team. I feel very happy that we have the best possible team and I’m thankful for the players making themselves available for the tie to represent their country. I think the tie will be very interesting, team South Africa has also a good team, Lloyd has had some great results at the Futures level and Raven Klaasen with his level in doubles makes South Africa a very complete team.”

Squads:

Team South Africa

Lloyd Harris (singles:284 doubles:793)
Tucker Voster (singles:644 doubles:272)
Nik Scholtz (singles:522 doubles:314)
Raven Klaasen(doubles:13)
Ruan Roelofse(singles:1653 doubles:177)

Captain: Marcos Ondruska

Team Estonia

Jürgen Zopp (singles:317 doubles: 412)
Vladimir Ivanov (singles:442 doubles:485)
Kenneth Raisma (singles:706 doubles:1061)
Mattias Siimar (singles:1511 doubles:0)

Captain: Ekke Tiideman

Pretoria, South Africa – Tennis South Africa (TSA) announced on Wednesday that accomplished businesswoman, Gugu Ntuli and marketing guru Geoff Whyte have been appointed to the Board of TSA.

Ntuli holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Coventry Business School (UK), a BSc App. Sci (Sport Science) & a B. Bus (International Business) degrees from QUT (Australia), and a Diploma in French from Sorbonne University (Paris). After four years in Media and Communication with the SABC, ABSA and Private Wealth Management, Ntuli joined the NHS Institute at Warwick University (UK) as a researcher. She later moved to Leicestershire and Rutland Sport where she headed up their Performance division. In 2008, she moved back to South Africa to take up a role as Deputy Director of Sport at Stellenbosch University. Nine months later she was appointed the CEO of SUSPI, where she helped transform the organisation during her 4 year tenure. She subsequently moved to Adidas Emerging Markets South where she oversaw PR communications and Newsroom. She later was charged with overseeing marketing and communications portfolios for Adidas Emerging Market South across Africa, in particular Nigeria and Ghana.

Ntuli currently serves as a Director of CASIDRA, where she is also the chairperson of the Social and Ethics committee. She has previously occupied Director roles with the African Sport Management Association (ASMA) in Kenya, Transformation Committee of Cricket South Africa, Transformation Committee of SASCOC, Coaching Framework of SASCOC and Advisory Board member for the International Multicultural Society for Sport & Entertainment – California USA. She is also a Director for East Africa mines in Uganda.
Ntuli has a strong marketing and Communications background with experience in strategic management, market development, brand marketing, digital marketing, international partnership and networks development, brand optimisation, and people management.

Ntuli’s many notable achievements include leading the launch of adidas and Reebok brands into Nigeria and Ghana, leading a start-up company’s brand internationally thus growing its top and bottom line by an average of 35% year on year, successfully managing the Absa internet crisis in the media, becoming a recipient of the Nelson Mandela Scholarship, and being appointed consultant for the Centre for Olympic studies (Loughborough, UK) to develop a marketing strategy for satellite centres.

Ntuli’s life philosophy is that focusing one’s life solely on making money shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of oneself. It is only when you connect your efforts to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.

Geoff Whyte, the CEO of Nando’s is a proven business leader with experience in the top echelons of leading global organisations including Unilever, Pepsico, Cadbury Schweppes and SAB-Miller.
He has an outstanding record of success in a wide variety of geographies including Europe, the UK, Africa, the Middle East and the United States. He is recognised as a leading thinker in South African
business and has spoken at a number of high profile conferences on a variety of topics.

Whyte has also written articles for major publications including leading national newspapers. His many contributions to South African marketing were recognised in April 2009 when the Sunday Times
made him their Marketing Person of the year.

Richard Glover, CEO of TSA commented, “Geoff and Gugu’s involvement with TSA is a strong endorsement for the Federation. Both bring impressive track records in marketing and PR, respectively,
and will significantly enhance our plans to step-change the sport in South Africa.”

Potchefstroom, South Africa – South African junior tennis ace, Christiaan Worst won his second international singles title in as many weeks on Saturday in Potchefstroom.

The Pretoria based Worst, seeded twelve and a member of Afrikaans Hoer Seunskool, won the ITFNWU-PUKKE 2 at the Riaan Venter Tennis Academy beating compatriot Rikhardt Bierman, seeded eleven, 3-6 7-5 6-2 in the rain interrupted final. After dropping the opening set, Worst found his groove in the second set and finally made the all-important break of serve in the eleventh game and held serve to win the set and even the match. Worst continued playing confidently in the final set, and broke an “out of sorts” Bierman again in the fifth game of that set and held to win the set, match and title.

Last week, Worst captured his first international title at the same venue and was overjoyed with having repeated the feat this week. “I am really proud of my achievements. I never expected this although I always play to win and now to have won two titles in a row is very, very special” said Worst.

Worst said that he had put a lot of work into his game this year and it was paying off. His Uncle, former South African Davis Cup player, Danie Visser agreed. “We started the year on a mission to get Christiaan to improve his work ethic and mind set and set realistic aims and objective. I am very happy that Christiaan has made the most of the opportunities thrown at him and is reaping the rewards of the hard work put in” said Visser.

The girls singles was dominated by the foreign players with Israel’s Shavit Kimchi, seeded 6, needing less than an hour to beat unseeded Margriet Timmermans of Netherlands 6-3 6-4 in the final.

Timmermans however did not leave Potchefstroom empty handed. The Dutch junior teamed up with her fellow country woman Perla Nieuwboer to win the doubles title. The fourth seeds beat third seeded South African’s, Megan Basson and Myah Petchey 6-1 1-6 10-6 in a battle royal.

Christiaan Worst won a full house of titles when he teamed up with country man, Justin Liebenberg to take the doubles title. Third seeds, Worst and Liebenberg beat 5th seeded Liam Coertzen and Joubert Klopper, also of South Africa 7-5 7-5 in the final

The South African swing of the ITF international junior circuit now moves to Pretoria for new week’s Axnosis ITF to be played at the Brooklyn Union Club.

Johannesburg, South Africa – South African tennis players enjoyed a good week on the ATP World Tour, ATP Challenger and ITF Futures circuit last week.

Cape Town based doubles ace, Raven Klaasen teamed up with his American partner, Rajeev Ram to win the ATP Delray Beach Open in Delray Beach, USA on Sunday. Second seeds Klaasen and Ram beat third seeds Treat Huey of Philippines and Max Mirnyi of Belarus 7-5 7-5 to win their fourth ATP World Tour doubles title as a team and first of 2017.

“I think Rajeev and I have done some good things to improve our games and this week was another progression for us as a team. The crowd has been great all week. People really enjoy their doubles here and that makes it us fun for us” said Klaasen following victory.

Lloyd Harris impressed in Japan when he reached the semi-finals of the Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships played in Kyoto. Nineteen year old Harris, South Africa’s second highest ranked singles player after Kevin Anderson, lost to sixth seed Blaz Kavcic in the last four 4-6 7-6 (6) 6-7 (5). Harris had to qualify for the tournament and then upset top seed Yuichi Sugita of Japan in straight sets, en route to the final.

Davis Cup player, Nik Scholtz reached the semi-finals of the Egypt Futures in Sharm El Sheikh, whilst his Davis Cup team mate Dean O’Brien together with American Kevin King reached the doubles final of the ATP Challenger in Morelos, Mexico.

• Irene Country Club to host the KIA South Africa vs Slovenia Davis Cup tie

Pretoria, South Africa – The Irene Country Club in the picturesque Irene area of Pretoria has once again been announced as the Davis Cup venue for next month’s tie versus Slovenia. The Euro/Africa Group 2 round two tie will be played from 7 – 9 April.

This is the sixth tie that will be hosted by Irene Country Club. The club is establishing itself as a favourite hunting ground for the KIA South African Davis Cup team and captain Marcos Ondruska is delighted his team will return to Irene to do battle against Slovenia.

“This is a very important tie for us. If we win, we have a chance to play in the promotion round in September against the winner or the Norway vs Denmark tie, and that will give us a chance of moving up in the Euro/Africa Group 1 next year. I firmly believe we have a good chance in doing so but we first have to focus on the Slovenian tie and take things one step at a time.”

Ondruska continued saying Irene Country Club was ideal for his team. “We enjoy playing at Irene. The court plays well, the stadium is intimate, we get good home crowd support and the hospitality is top class. All this contributes largely to the team’s success and the record shows, out of five ties played at Irene we have won four.”

South Africa and Slovenia have played each other twice and share the spoils. In April of 2012, South Africa hosted Slovenia at the Arthurs Ashe Tennis Complex in Soweto and comfortably beat the visitors 4-1. But Slovenia got revenge in September of 2013 when they hosted South Africa and on their favoured clay courts they beat South Africa also 4-1.

Ondruska warned that Slovenia were a team to watch. “Even though the Slovenia’s prefer playing on clay, they are seeded two in the group and have two players ranked in the world’s top 200 which makes them very tricky. We cannot underestimate Slovenia and like us they also want a shot at being promoted to Group 1 so I am expecting them to send their strongest possible team. I urge the fans to secure their tickets early as we were sold out in the tie against Estonia and the tennis on offer was world class.”

Ticket sales for the three day tie open on Wednesday 29 February at www.ticketweb.co.za - Tickets are R150 per session.

Johannesburg, South Africa -The SPAR Grand Prix, one of South Africa’s most prestigious athletics events, will be bigger and better than ever this year.
The Grand Prix has been expanded to include a sixth race – the Pietermaritzburg SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge and the prize money has increased by seven per cent, with the eventual winner pocketing a whopping R173 000. In addition, the Grand Prix is now open to all woman runners, regardless of their nationality.
“The inclusion of international runners is an important step,” said Grand Prix coordinator Ian Laxton.
“For ten years, we helped a generation of local runners move into the international arena. Now it’s time to open it up to everyone, because our local girls are ready to take on the world.
“With six races this year, these international runners need to come to at least four, and probably five, of the races if they want to win. That means we could have several African stars here for the whole series,” said Laxton.
“That’s good for road running in South Africa and we plan to eventually become a destination for world class women athletes. We invite the Kenyans, the Ethiopians and other world class runners to come to the SPAR Grand Prix in 2017.”
Laxton said the tenth anniversary of the SPAR Grand Prix in 2016 had been very special, but the organisers knew that they had to continue to improve the race.
“We decided to include Pietermaritzburg as one of the Grand Prix races because we wanted to expand the Grand Prix, and the Pietermaritzburg race was ideal for our purposes. It is well run, and well supported, so it has enough clout to fit into the Grand Prix, and it has been sponsored by SPAR for a number of years.”
“We are excited about the improvements to the Grand Prix,” said SPAR Marketing Director Mike Prentice.
“The SPAR Challenge races and the SPAR Grand Prix are among our most important sponsorships, and it is important that they change and improve every year. We look forward to another titanic battle for Grand Prix points in 2017.”
One runner who will be delighted by the expansion of the Grand Prix to all nationalities is Rutendo Nyahora. The Zimbabwean has been a regular top ten finisher for several years, with a number of Challenge wins to her name, but until now she has been excluded from the Grand Prix.
“I didn’t mind that it was only for South Africans,” said Nyahora.
“But I am so happy that I can now also get Grand Prix points, and stand a chance of winning.”
As part of efforts to raise standards, there will be a cash incentive for runners who beat target times for each of the races. The targets are the fastest winning times in the past three years. In addition to the cash prize of R5000 in the open category and R2500 in the age categories, runners who meet the target times will receive bonus points. Only the winner will receive the cash bonus, but all runners who beat the target times will receive bonus points.
The first race is the Cape Town Challenge on Sunday April 2. The Port Elizabeth Challenge is on Saturday May 6 and the Durban race is on Sunday June 11. There will be two Challenge races in August, with the Pretoria race on Saturday August 5 and the Pietermaritzburg race on Sunday August 20. The final race is in Johannesburg on Sunday October 8 at their new venue, Marks Park in Emmerentia.

Cape Town, South Africa – Straight-set wins were the order of the day when the singles contests got under way on Sunday at the ITF Young Seniors World Individual Championships in Cape Town.

Many of the players across the six categories had the benefit of experiencing the local conditions after representing their countries at last week’s ITF Young Seniors World Team Champs in the ‘Mother City’, as Cape Town, South Africa’s oldest city is an affectionately nicknamed.

One such player was Brendan Zackey who started off his Men 40 singles campaign on a winning note when he downed German Ferdinand Fahlke 6-2 6-3 at the Western Province Cricket Club courts.

Zackey, a Johannesburg entrepreneur, played for South Africa at the same venue last week where he had five singles outings. Coming from South Africa’s Highveld he’s had to adjust to conditions at the coast.

“I had the benefit of being fully acclimatised since I’ve played on at least five of the six courts at the Men’s 40 event last week,” said Zackey, who previously campaigned on the ATP Tour. “I was off to a fine start to lead 5-1 although it was a battle adapting serves to the varying sun and light conditions at the two ends.

“The second set didn’t quite go to plan as I suffered a break of serve after taking a 4-1 lead. Somehow both of us dropped serves later in this set but my earlier lead provided the platform for me to close out the set, and the game, at 6-2 6-3.”

At the Kelvin Grove Club courts, Germany’s Alexander Klec was subjected to a marathon duel against Manuel Pinto de Abreu Portugal before he triumphed 6-7 6-1 6-2.

It was hard on Klec who had only arrived in Cape Town 24 hours earlier from Munich. He said he found local conditions vastly different from those in Europe and on top of that, he was just returning to action after a three-month lay-off as a result of illness.

“It was a great gesture on the part of the ITF to give me a wild card and I want to do well at this event,” said Klec. “Having prepared on indoor courts, I soon found out that ball bounces much higher here on the outdoor courts.

“The higher temperatures were also a factor because it can be tiring playing in the heat.”

Klec surrendered the first set but it gave him a chance to work out his tactics for the rest of the match.

“At the start of the second, I slowed down the game a fair bit although he tried to make me run a lot.

“I was quite happy to do that (run) and once I managed to wrest the initiative, I moved him around. As the match progressed, I started serving much better and I noticed halfway through the second set that he was tiring.”

Over at the Western Province Tennis courts, Okan Okyay from Ankara, Turkey, said he was exhausted after his 6-2 6-3 singles win over Australian Tim Thomas in the Men 45 division.

Okyay was still reeling from the effects of a near five-hour singles encounter last week when he represented Turkey against Ireland.

“I’m just taking game by game because I’m still suffering from that long match,” Okyay said afterwards. “The set went with serve after four games but then I broke him and soon I was 4-2 up. That’s when I changed tactics and played lots of slice and topspin.

“He (Thomas) did try to pressure me but he wasn’t doing too well with the return of serve.

“In the second set, I used my ‘weapon’ - the serve and had two breaks to go up 4-1. That’s when fatigue set in and it became a fight for me but I kept thinking about my game right until the end.”

Most of the tournament’s top seeds will be in action at the three venues on Monday.

Cape Town, South Africa – “Olé, Olé, Olé!” rang out at the Western Province Tennis courts on Friday when Spain made a successful title defence of the Margaret Court Cup (Women 45) at the ITF Young Seniors World Team Championships in Cape Town.

Throughout the week, the all-conquering Spanish team sounded a championship challenge with a string of one-sided wins but they were fully extended on Friday by the sixth-seeded South Africa in the gold medal match which attracted the biggest crowd for any venue this week.

In both singles, the Spaniards were subjected to three-sets encounters as they warded off the twin intimidation of never-say-die opponents and a spoiling wind to eventually clinch the tie 2-0.

In their previous matches at the venue, windless conditions prevailed but on Friday the Spanish players were forced to reckon with conditions, and they found it trying.

Top seeds Spain sent out Noelia Perez-Penate for the opening singles against South Africa’s Lettica Venter and neither would have anticipated the dogfight that was to play out in the opening two sets. Perez-Penate eventually held out for a 6-3 4-6 6-1 win.

The match was held up for 10 minutes in the second set when Venter required medical attention for her elbow. Perez-Penate said afterwards the stoppage broke her rhythm.

“The wind made it difficult because it was blowing for the first time this week,” said Perez-Penate. “But it was more in the head because I needed to put that behind me.

“My plan was to constantly change tactics at the start and it worked well in the first set. In the second set, I started making too many errors and the match started drifting away from me.

“By the time we had the injury stoppage I was leading 3-2 and when we resumed she started hitting very flat and with lots of top spin. I was out of it and lost the set 6-4.

“I didn’t very long to find my game in the third and I kept thinking that I should have ended the match after two sets.”

South Africa’s Jacqueline Booth made a valiant attempt to rescue the tie for her country in the next singles clash but in the end succumbed to the steady play of Ana Salas-Lozano, who clinched the tie with a 1-6 6-3 6-4 win.

Booth raised a fair amount of applause throughout the clash for her adventurous play but it also yielded unforced errors when big points were at stake in the later sets.

The second-seeded Netherlands were next to strike gold when they annexed the Dubler Cup (Men 45) following their close-shave 2-1 win over top seeds France at the Green Point Tennis Club.

But despite this setback for France, they turned out to the stand-out performers at the 2017 showpiece as they went to win the next four titles on offer. It was a remarkable performance, bagging four titles and a runner-up position in six age divisions.

The Women 35 top seeds France came good against The Netherlands (3) with wins in both singles to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup.

Prior to the start of this match, France won the deciding doubles against Germany after rain prevented play on Thursday.

The Tony Trabert Cup (Men 40) also went to France, the top seeds, after they dispatched third seeds Spain 2-0 at the Western Province Cricket Club courts.

Both singles matches were hard-fought affairs, especially the second which was decided on straight-set tie-breaks.

There was more glory for France at the Pinelands Tennis Club after their Women’s 40 team, the third seeds, caused an upset with a 2-0 win over top seeds Spain.

France completed their trophy haul at the Kelvin Grove Club courts in glorious fashion after completing the week-long tournament undefeated.

They won the Italia Cup (Men 35) with a 2-0 win over Great Britain.

Marc Steger who closed out the tie with a straight-sets win in the second singles match said afterwards the team battled in the windy conditions but they remained strong mentally.

“We were not overly aggressive. The plan was to play a solid game and make sure faults don’t creep into our play,” said Steger, a tennis coach who hails from Mulhouse, a city in Eastern France.

“We put a lot of emphasis on solid groundstrokes and opted to play most of the time from the comfort of the baseline.”

The action in Cape Town will continue on Sunday when the ITF Young Seniors World Individual Championships get under way.