Michau Basson and Amanda van Dyk were the singles winners of the Alexander Forbes Open Tennis Tournament in Windhoek over the weekend.
In the men’s singles final, Basson won the first set 6-3 and was leading 2-1 in the second set when his opponent Nicky Buys retired due to an injury.
Basson was in great form and only lost one set throughout the tournament. En route to the final he beat Leon Engelbrecht 6-0, 6-1 and Mwize Gondwe 6-1, 6-3.
The young Buys, meanwhile, showed that he can develop into one of Namibia’s top players by beating Kallie Heese and the top seeded Louis Botha en route to the final.
In the quarterfinals he beat Heese in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 and in the semis he beat Botha 7-6, 6-1.
The veteran Amanda van Dyk won the women’s singles title when she beat the junior Christiane Schuckmann 6-1, 6-4 in the final.
Van Dyk did not drop a set throughout the tournament and was hardly tested, beating Silvia Schultz 6-1, 6-1 and Rihetta 6-0, 6-2 en route to the final.
Schuckmann found the going tougher, beating Shurieda Nel in three sets, 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 and Jolanda Amoraal 6-4, 6-4.
The men’s doubles final saw a classic encounter as Johan Theron and Deon van Dyk staged a great comeback to beat Louis Botha and Henco Serdyn 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.
In the third set Theron and Van Dyk seemed out for the count when they trailed 5-2, but they somehow recuperated and went on to win the next seven games to take the title.
Amanda van Dyk and Rihetta Swart won the women’s doubles title with a walkover against Jolanda Amoraal and Chu-Rida Nel.
The Mixed Doubles title went to MK Khupe and Rihetta Swart who beat Deon van Dyk and Amanda van Dyk 7-6, 5-7, 10-6 in the final.
The next tournament on the Namibian tennis calendar is scheduled for July 7. Contact Kallie Heesse at kalie@iway.na for more information.