Kgothatso Montjane, a wheelchair tennis woman has successfully defended her Swiss Open title on Saturday with a victory in the final over world No 7 Lucy Shuker in Geneva, Switzerland. Montjane ranked world No 8 defeated the British top seed 7-5, 6-2 to make it a fourth triumph at the 31st Swiss Open tournament in a match which showcased the best of women’s tennis.
She had won the title in 2013, 2015 to ease past current world No 6 Katharina Kruger in a stunning 6-2 6-3 victory to record her third title in 2017.
Kgothatso hopes the success acts as motivation for what lies ahead in the season including this week’s Wimbledon event.
“I’m very satisfied with the way I played and I always enjoy coming back to the Swiss Open. This was an important win for me especially after defending my title. These are vital points to maintain my ranking and I am excited that I was able to retain them. This tournament was a warm-up tournament for me ahead of the Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament; it is definitely a confidence booster going out there with a win in the bag. I didn’t think I will be able to pull through such an incredible performance especially after surviving a first set scar in my quarter-final round match against Manami Tanaka from Japan.”
The South African Paralympian will head to Wimbledon this week full of confidence after the victory at the Centre Sportif du Bois-des-Frères in the International Tennis Federation One Series tournament. The Limpopo born-star was handed a wildcard for the third Grand Slam tournament in London, Great Britain and it will be the first time African continent is represented in the wheelchair tennis event.
