BY FORTUNE MBELE TOP Zimbabwe junior girls tennis player Tanyaradzwa Midzi made the country proud at the weekend, coming out second in the ITF Cranrid South Central Circuit Zim Leg 1 after reaching the final, only to fall to South Africa’s Celina Joseph at the Bulawayo Country Club on Saturday.
Midzi (15), the top seed at the competition, took the first set 6-3 before losing 2-6, 3-6 to claim the silver medal and improve her points in the world rankings.
She is now eyeing the second leg of the tournament as she started on good note, cruising past compatriot, Hailley Banda 6-1, 6-1 in the first round at the same venue on Monday.
Despite the loss in the final, Midzi said she was confident of doing well again in the second leg.
“It is been quite good so far. I have been playing well in all my matches. It has been a great phase. I am aware I lost in the final and I learnt a lot of things. I will do better next time,” Midzi said.
On her way to the finals, Midzi upstaged another Zimbabwean Ruramai Chamakura 6-0, 6-2 in the first round before overcoming South Africa’s Che Nel 6-3, 6-3 in the second round.
In the quarterfinals, she beat the 5th seed Lucy Bell Hogan of Ireland 6-3, 6-0 and before accounting of the third seed Sophia Fuller of South Africa 6-2, 6-1 in the semi-finals.
The second seed Tadiwanashe Mauchi, who is just coming from a back injury, fell in the 6-3, 6-1 to the eventual winner Joseph.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
In the boys’ section, the first leg was won by Calum Jestin of South Africa who beat Hanu Patel of the United States 6-7, 6-1, 6-2.
Zimbabwe’s Takura Mwandagara reached the quarter-finals where he knocked out by Patel, losing 7-6, 6-4.
Tennis Zimbabwe manager Cliff Nhokwara is excited at how the competition is proceeding.
“We are lucky to have these events here courtesy of Cranrid. We had a number of Zimbabwean players getting their first points and others consolidating their points and we even had a local girl in the finals in the name of Tanya Midzi, so these events are giving the kids the platform to get that world recognition,” Nhokwara said.
The tournament is sponsored by a local company Cranrid Petroleum, whose chief executive Peter Mauchi, is attending the competition.
- Follow us on Twitter @NewsDayZimbabwe
