South Africa Men and Women’s teams will have to scale the Moroccan hurdle if they must be Africa’s representatives at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Turkey.
Both countries made it to the finals of the Men’s and Women’s events in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital, after some unbelievably amazing tennis.
The South African Men’s team was too tough for the Rwandan team they played against in the semifinal playoffs winning both rubbers 6-0, 6-0 and chose to not play the final rubber after confirming their qualification.
To reach the finals, Morocco’s Men overcame a huge task of defeating hosts Nigeria, who are among the powerhouses in African football.
The first rubber between Fuad Boughnim and Alex Adewale ended 6-2, 6-0 but it was the second rubber that proved difficult for the North Africans.
Nigeria’s Williams Ukari ensured he left it all on the courts during his match against Lhaj Boukatacha and even though the match ended in two straight sets, the home player got some accolades for his efforts in the game which ended 6-2, 7-6(4).
South Africa also proved too strong for the Nigerian Women team, as the pair of Mariska Venter and Kgothatso Montjane defeated Kemi Oluwasegun and Kafayat Omisore 6-1, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-0 respectively.
With this result, the South African women will face Morocco in the final after latter saw off a Tanzanian resistance from Lucy Shirima and Rehema Selemani who were respectively defeated by Samira Benichi and Najwa Awane in 6-3, 6-0 and 6-1, 6-1 games.
Tennis fans are encouraged to storm the tennis courts inside the National Stadium, Abuja, on Sunday, 11 February, 2024, to watch the best of African wheelchair tennis.
The winners of the Men’s and Women’s finals will represent Africa at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup from 7-12 May, 2024, in Turkey.