3 May 2024
The hosts, Kearsney College, made some noise in Friday morning’s opening round of the Kearsney Tennis Tournament, which has brought eight of South Africa’s leading boys’ tennis teams to Botha’s Hill.
Up against St David’s Marist Inanda, Kearsney made full use of their home court advantage to defeat the Johannesburg side 20-5.
Paul Roos, the 14-time champions and last year’s runners-up, were on cruise control against Affies, easing their way to a 23-3 victory.
That wasn’t quite as convincing as Westville Boys’ High, the defending champions, and four-time winners, Grey College. Westville ran out 24-0 winners over Pretoria Boys High, while Grey matched that margin in their victory over Rondebosch Boys’ High.
That was, however, a prelude to a crucial Group Alcaraz tie between Westville and Grey at St Mary’s DSG in the afternoon. In 2023, Westville beat Grey 14-12 in group play before going on to claim the title for a first time. This time, there was a bigger gap between the teams, with Westville winning a hard-fought clash 17-10.
Guy Vorwerk, who has been in outstanding form on the ITF circuit, defeated Grey no. 1 Nic Reis 6-1, 6-4, while his younger brother, Rhys, playing at no.5, was an equally convincing 6-3, 6-2 winner over Bogdan Mandic.
Jovan Mandic faced Lindo Gcwensa at no.6. Gcwensa would normally play at three for Westville, but he’s carrying a quad niggle and he found, in Mandic, a never-say-die opponent. It took a super tiebreak to separate the pair, with Gcwensa winning it 10-5.
In the battle of the no. 4 players, Johannes Adam enjoyed a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 win over Matthew Goodchild, but Lian du Toit, at no. 2, took down the usually rock-solid Matthew Wilson 6-5, 6-3 to score Grey’s only singles’ win.
The match of the day, though, belonged to George Denysschen and Ben Scholtz, with Westville’s Denysschen edging it 5-6, 6-5, 10-4.
Pretoria Boys High and Rondebosch Boys’ High, the other teams in the group, did battle at Kearsney, and it could have gone either way, with ‘Bosch claiming a 13-12 win.
Paul Roos rolled in Group Sinner, outplaying St David’s 24-0, but there was nothing in it between Kearsney and Affies, who shared a 13-13 draw.
There remains much to play for on Saturday, with the final group placings to be decided in the morning.
FIXTURES
Saturday AM
Group Sinner
St David’s vs Affies, Kearsney 3,4
Paul Roos vs Kearsney, Kearsney 1, 2
Group Alcaraz
Grey College vs Pretoria Boys, Kearsney 5, 6
Westville vs Rondebosch, Highbury
Saturday PM – Playoffs
Winner Sinner vs 2nd Alcaraz (A), TBC
2nd Sinner vs Winner Alcaraz (B), TBC
3rd Sinner vs 4th Alcaraz (C), TBC
4th Sinner vs 3rd Alcaraz (D), TBC
Sunday AM – Finals and Playoffs
Final: Winner A vs Winner B, Kearsney 1, 2, 6
3rd/4th: Loser A vs Loser B, TBC
5th/6th: Winner C vs Winner D, TBC
7th/8th: Loser C vs Loser D
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