Team South Africa made a perfect start to their Billie Jean King Cup Europe/Africa Group III tournament in Vilnius, Lithuania on Tuesday, 15 June 2021.
South Africa thumped their African counterparts Namibia 3-0 in their first clash in Group F.
Tournament debutante Delien Kleinhans went out first for South Africa and wasted no time beating Carita Moolman (Namibia) in straight sets 6-1 6-0.
It was then the turn of Chanel Simmonds, the South African number one who gave her country victory over the Namibians when she beat Georgina Moolman, 6-0 6-1 to give South Africa a 2-0 lead.
In the final rubber of the tie, Simmonds then teamed up with another debutante Lara van der Merwe for the dead rubber. The South Africans easily disposed of Georgina Moolman and Theron 6-0 6-1 in less than an hour to give South Africa the all-important 3-0 victory.
Team Captain, Roxanne Clarke was pleased with her team’s overall performance against Namibia, “I’m really happy with the way the team came out to play today. We were very focused and certainly took care of business.”
“It feels great to get that first win under our belt and to get rid of those first match jitters. Even though we weren’t really tested, this tie was very meaningful for building our confidence for the rest of the tournament,” concluded Clarke.
Photo 1 Caption: The youth-powered Team SA consisting of (from left) Lara van der Merwe, Chanel Simmonds, Roxanne Clarke (Captain), Delien Kleinhans and Kelly Arends have kicked off in the best manner, thumping neighbours Namibia 3-0 at their start of the Billie Jean King Cup Europe/Africa Group III tournament in Vilnius, Lithuania on Tuesday. Photo: Supplied
With editing by gsport
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