Kaylea Sher and Kay-Leigh Nicholas booked their passages to Torino, Italy, to compete in the Nike Junior Tour International Masters, after their respective age-group wins in the U14 and U12 Girls finals in the Nike Junior Tour SA Masters, completed at the Riaan Venter Tennis Academy in Vanderbijlpark on Tuesday.
Sher defeated Janine Erasmus 6-3 7-6 (8-6) to claim the Girls Under-14 title, while Nicholas earned her place in Turin with a hard-fought 6-3 7-6 (7-5) over Madrie le Roux.
Sher probably should have closed out her match earlier against Erasmus, "In the second set I was 4-1 up and I started relaxing, but she lifted her game and that is when I got frustrated. But then I got my act together and I am happy I won in the end.
"The prospect of playing at the International Masters is very exciting. I don’t really know what to expect this time because some of the countries taking part do not always send their best players," said Sher.
While Nicholas will be making her first appearances at the International Master, Sher has been there before.
Nicholas was over the moon to get through her match against Le Roux. "I think I was a lot more aggressive than I was in my previous matches and my serve percentage was very good.
"I was under pressure in the second set when I was 5-3 down but I managed to come back and win it. "It feels great to be on the winning side and I am very excited at the thought of representing SA at the International Masters in Italy," said Nicholas.
The two will be joined by the boys age-group winners at the same tournament, and will be meeting some of the top players from 20 other countries in Torino with the added the disadvantage of playing on clay, a surface that undoubtedly favours the Europeans.
Girls Under 14 Final:
Kaylea Sher (GC) bt Janine Erasmus (FS) 6-3 7-6(8-6)
Girls Under 12 Final:
Kay-Leigh Nicholas (Bor) bt Madrie le Roux (SWD) 6-3 7-6(7-5)
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