It’s a case of which Team SA wheelchair tennis player will win the men’s singles title at the African Para Games after Alwande Sikhosana and Leon Els both reached the final with straight sets victories in Accra, Ghana, on Friday.
Sikhosana is the top seed in the tournament and he again made short work of his opponent, this time Morocco’s Said Himan. The 23-year-old South African once reached No2 in the world in the juniors and he is continuing his progress amongst the seniors. In reaching the final he bat Albert Churo 6-0 6-0, Terlumun Ukari 6-0 6-3 and now the No3 seed Himan 6-0 6-1.
He will play Els in the final after the South African No4 seed saw off his Moroccan opponent Ljah Boukartacha 6-2 6-4.
It’s not often a 35-year-old is considered the “youngster” in international sport, but Els is 11 years younger than Boukartacha. The pair had met four times before, with the head-to-head record standing at 2-2.
The recent form had favoured Els, given that he’d lost to the Moroccan in Moscow in 2013 and in Cuneo in 2016, but won their last two encounters, in Antwerp in 2018 and Bucharest (6-2 6-0) only last month.
Yet, the ITF rankings belied the fact that Els looked to be the favourite heading into this semi-final. The South African is ranked 83rd and the Moroccan 65th, which is why they were seeded No2 and No4, respectively.
Sikhosana and Els are also in the men’s doubles final, where they are favourites to beat their Moroccan opponents.