Top women’s draw seed Lizaan du Plessis was made to work hard by Bankane Magakgala of Gauteng Central, before winning through 6-3 3-6 6-1 to play Megan Sporndli in the SAA National Championship semi-finals, after the unseeded player from Gauteng East put out Lara van Rooyen in a tight encounter 6-1 5-7 7-6 (7-5).
Second seed Kim Rudman also progressed to the semis, where she will meet Bronwyn Davidson, after beating Chane Hines 6-4 7-5. Rudman eliminated Helena Mowatt 6-2 6-3.
After losing the opening set to Du Plessis, Magakgala went into a 5-1 lead in the second, but she got a little tight and gave back one of her breaks before serving out for the set.
Both players held their first serves in the decider, but then the top seed raced away with the match to win in 89 minutes. “I didn’t feel good out there today, and I battled to get into the match,” said Du Plessis after the match.
“Also I was never worried about the match, and maybe because Bankane came out firing, I was caught off guard. Bankane played a good game, and capitalised on my many unforced errors.
“I noticed that Bankane was growing in confidence as the match progressed, so although I felt a bit out of it, I knew I had to focus on my own game, not my opponent, make less unforced errors and lift my game to the next level in order to win the match.”
SAA National Championships Results
Wanderers Tennis Club, Johannesburg
Thursday 30 November 2006.
Women Singles; Quarter-finals:
Megan Sporndli (GE) bt Lara van Rooyen (GN) 6-1 5-7 7-6 (7-5)
1-Lizaan du Plessis (EP) bt Bankane Magakgala (GC) 6-3 3-6 6-1
Bronwyn Davidson (GC) bt Chane Hines (GC) 6-4 7-5
2-Kim Rudman (GC) bt Helena Mowatt (GN) 6-2 6-3
Women’s Doubles; Round 1:
Helena Mowatt/Elsje Hendriks (GN) bt Bankane Magakgala/Claudia Sanua (GC) w/o (no show)
Jenni Mari Potgieter/Madri Potgieter (GN) vs Debbie van Aswegen / Van der Heever (GE) 6-0 6-0
Kim Rudman (GC) / Lisa Wade (GE) vs Amy Anstey (GC) / Megan Sporndli (GE) 6-3 6-2
Bronwyn Davidson / Hedda Wolmarans (GC) vs Chane Hines (GC) / Ambrenschir Wienecke (GE) 6-1 (retired)
Click here for tournament information.
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