South African top wheelchair tennis ace Lucas Sithole’s hopes of winning his first title in 2018 at the French Riviera Open were left splattered all over centre court in Sophia-Antipolis this weekend after losing to world No 29 Sam Schroder from the Netherlands in the quad singles final round.
Former world No 2 Sithole went into the match looking to win his first singles title since the Joburg Open in July 2017, but Schroder spoiled the party with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
The former world No 6, Schroder, earned his first quad singles title of the season and extended his winning streak over current world No 6 Sithole to three matches in their previous four encounters.
Before this year’s British Open, Schroder’s only previous match against Sithole had ended in defeat in June 2017, but after wins in Nottingham and then in Sardinia a week ago, the Dutchman dominated Saturday’s final in France to claim the title.
It’s the second time in two consecutive years that the KwaZulu-Natal player has lost in the final of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) level 2 tournament in France.
Sithole, who turned 32 on Sunday, fell to American world No 1 David Wagner in 2017, losing 4-6, 0-6 to the 44-year-old.
But Sithole won’t return home empty-handed. The 32-year-old clinched his second French Riviera Open doubles title with compatriot Donald Ramphadi on Friday, defeating Schroder and Israeli Shraga Weinberg 7-5, 6-0 to lift the title.
PHOTO: Sithole in French action, by French Riviera Open