Blood, sweat and bagels for tennis champion
The tournament didn't quite end the way everyone had hoped, with Zelda Smook falling ill.
In tennis, the dreaded bagel is something players want to avoid at all costs. But sometimes it happens, even to the best among us.
Like Daniel Francesconi, the defending champion at Southbroom Tennis Club, in the singles final recently.
Before he knew what had happened, his opponent Hriday Kambaran had taken the first set 6-0.
In Daniel’s defence, his lethargic start may have had something to do with running the Comrades Marathon the Sunday before, in a superb time of 08:35.
Or perhaps the bagel had some sort of Italian flavour or ingredient as he roared back to take the second set 6-1, leaving spectators stunned, bemused and somewhat puzzled.
At 3-1 down in the set, Hriday snapped a string and had to use of one Daniel’s spares.
He soon got used to it and the third set saw a return to some sort of normalcy, with the two friends going hard at each other in long rallies, playing out a gripping third set, which saw Daniel eventually triumph 7-5.
Daniel teamed up with his father Stef to take the doubles title over Richard Short and Bjorn Wikstrom.
Unfortunately, the weekend was not what the doctor ordered for his mixed doubles partner, Zelda Smook.
She fell ill and wasn’t able to play at all, much to her and everyone else’s disappointment.
As a result she had to concede all her finals – singles to Cheryse Wikstrom, doubles to Cheryse Wikstrom and Sharon van der Schyff, and mixed to Everett Duarte and Renee Purtell,
RESULTS
Men’s singles: Daniel Francesconi beat Hriday Kambaran 0-6, 6-1, 7-5.
Men’s doubles: Daniel Francesconi/Stef Francesconi beat Bjorn Wikstrom/Richard Short 6-3, 6-4.
Ladies’ singles: Cheryse Wikstrom walkover Zelda Smook.
Ladies’ doubles: Cheryse Wikstrom/Sharon van der Schyff walkover Zelda Smook/Maxine Mackay-Coghill.
Mixed doubles: Everett Duarte/Renee Purtell walkover Daniel Francesconi/Zelda Smook.
Plate
Men’s singles: Carlo Garbini beat Johan van Niekerk 6-4, 6-3.
Men’s doubles: Winners Frank Hall/Jacques Pienaar, runners-up Rolf Gudegast/Ian Krog.
Ladies’ singles: Winner Andrea Browne, runner-up up Kate-Lynne Weller.
Ladies’ doubles: Winners Thobeka Dlongolo-Boffi/Sabrina Hind, runners-up Claire Winestein-Butler/Nita Winestein-Butler.
Mixed doubles: Winners Philip Schaffer/Jenny Senneck, runners-up Rob Browne/Andrea Browne.
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