In Adelaide, Sithole was clearly on a roll in the quarters and semi’s, making light work of Takashi Nagaoka from Japan and John Parfitt of Great Britain. In the finals, Sithole left no room for error and in a clean sweep he defeated Japan’s Shota Kawano 6-2 6-2. Partnering with Parfitt in the doubles, the South African No.1 clinched his second title of the day when the pair beat the second seeds, Greg Hasterok of the USA and Marco Innocenti of Italy, 6-1, 7-5.

In Melbourne, Sithole sailed past Canadian Adrian Dieleman and Greg Hasterok from the USA, to meet Great Britain’s Jamie Burdekin in the finals. On the day, Sithole was out of luck and missed out on a hat trick win when the South African superstar lost 3-6, 4-6.

Fellow tennis star, Kgothatso Montjane had to settle for the runner-up position in the women’s singles in Adelaide when she faced Australian, Daniela Di Toro in the finals. In the first set, Montjane fought for every point and showed great potential. In the second set the South African lost focus which cost her dearly, trailing way behind with a final match score of 7-5, 6-0. In the doubles, Montjane paired up with Germany’s Katharina Kruger and the duo showed much promise reaching the finals. The British players, Hunt and Jordanne Whiley however proved the stronger pair on the day, winning 6-4, 5-7 (10-8).

In Melbourne, Montjane was knocked out of the singles quarterfinals by the world’s No.1, Esther Vergeer, a Hollander, who went on to win the tournament.

South Africa’s No.1 in the men’s division, Sydwell Mathonsi reached the quarterfinals of the men’s second draw in Adelaide. An unfortunate Mathonsi, ranked 36th, lost to No.39 Mamoru Iwata from Japan. Mathonsi went down 1-6 in the first set and fought back in the second set, but unfortunately it was a case of too little too late, and he was narrowly defeated 6-7 (2).

In Melbourne, Mathonsi once again faced Iwata in the semis of the men’s second draw and was determined not to repeat the mistakes he made in Adelaide. Putting weight behind his game he went on to annihilate Iwata 7-5, 6-0. Mathonsi then faced Carlos Santos from Brazil in the finals but was not able to maintain his trajectory, losing 1-6, 1-6.

South Africa’s No.2 in the men’s division, Evans Maripa reached the third round in the men’s second draw in Adelaide and was swiftly defeated by Santos 6-2, 6-3. As luck would have it, Maripa faced fellow South African, Mathonsi in the quarterfinals of the Melbourne Open, losing 2-6, 4-6.

In the doubles, Mathonsi and Maripa reached the finals of the men’s reserve draw in Melbourne and were knocked out by Brazilians Rafael Medeiros and Daniel Rodrigues 6-1, 7-6 (5).

Director of Wheelchair Tennis South Africa (WTSA), Holger Losch said: “The players are in Australia to compete in four international tournaments with the objective of increasing their points to qualify for the Paralympics later this year. We are so proud that Kgothatso has been able to increase her ranking to No.10 in the world, positioning her favourably for Paralympic qualification. Lucas’s wins have secured him his No.11 position worldwide”.

Participation in local and international tournaments such as these is made possible by the generous sponsorships offered by Airports Company South Africa, the official sponsor of the sport. Airports Company South Africa has contributed no less than R14-million to date and has committed to a continued investment in the sport as its flagship CSI project.