South Africa’s quads wheelchair tennis team clinched seventh position with a decisive 2-1 victory over hosts Netherlands in the seventh/eighth place play-off at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Apeldoorn, Netherlands at the weekend.
The country’s No2 quads player Danny Mohlamonyane delivered a strong performance to put South Africa ahead when he dismantled Koen de Boer, romping to a 6-3 6-0 victory in the opening singles rubber.
However, Netherlands evened the series with Niels Vink defeating two-time grand slam champion Lucas Sithole in the second singles rubber. Sithole found Vink a tougher opponent, with the Dutch world No29 winning the rubber 6-4 6-4.
The deciding doubles match pitted rising star Donald Ramphadi and Mohlamonyane against De Boer and Vink, with the South African quads pair pulling off a 7-5 6-3 victory to edge Netherlands 2-1.
On their way to the seventh position, the team staged a commendable fight throughout but could not quite match the depth of some of the top nations, losing to defending champions Australia, 2017 silver medalists Israel, and Japan.
Team coach Holger Losch commended the team for their performance throughout the event. ‘The team really played their best in every match and it was exciting watching up and coming players like Donald and Danny rising to the challenge and holding their own in both the singles and the doubles events.’
Photo: Mohlamonyane by Reg Caldecott
RESULTS:
Quads – Seventh/eighth place play-off
South Africa 2 Netherland 2-1
Singles: Danny Mohlamonyane (SA) bt Koen de Boer (SA) 6-3 6-0
Niels Vink (NED) bt Lucas Sithole (SA) 6-4 6-4
Doubles: Danny Mohlamonyane/ Donald Ramphadi (SA) bt Koen de Boer/ Niels Vink (NED) 7-5 6-3