SA's world-acclaimed doubles players Raven Klaasen and Ruan Roelofse continued their impressive Potch Open campaign yesterday by upstaging Belgian Julien Cagnina and Nicola Kuhn of Spain in straight sets in the quarterfinals.
The SA duo prevailed 6-1 7-5 in just 65 minutes to book their place in the semifinals of the ATP Challenger 80 event being played at the North-West University in Potchefstroom.
The first set was a masterclass from Klaasen and Roelofse as they won it untroubled in just 29 minutes.
The second set was far tighter, but Klaasen and Roelofse dug deep and secured victory.
In the singles event, Turkish sixth seed Cem Ilkel, Taiwanese Chun-hsin Tseng, Dimitar Kuzmanov of Bulgaria and British qualifier Liam Broady have all advanced to the quarterfinal round after victories in their respective matches.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old SA rising star Zoe Kruger secured her place in the quarterfinals of the Ilana Kloss International after defeating Dutch third seed Bibiane Schoofs in straight sets at the university.
The opening set was competitive, but the SA wildcard eventually took it 6-4. The contest soon became one-sided, with Schoofs getting just one game on the board as she went down 6-1 in the second.
Kruger will next face unseeded Hungarian Anna Bondar for a place in the semifinal of the ITF $25,000 World Tour event.
“My match today was really tough. Luckily it wasn’t as long as my previous matches, but I still had to fight to get through it,” said Kruger.
“The opponent I played was a bit older than I am, and she was really, really tough, and very nice as well. We respected each other on court and I think it was a great match.”
Zoe’s sister Isabella’s good run in the tournament ended in the second round after falling to fourth seed Reka-Luca Jani of Hungary 6-3 6-1. — Sowetan Reporter
Klaasen, Roelofse through to the quarterfinals
Veteran doubles duo impress at Potch Open
SA's world-acclaimed doubles players Raven Klaasen and Ruan Roelofse continued their impressive Potch Open campaign yesterday by upstaging Belgian Julien Cagnina and Nicola Kuhn of Spain in straight sets in the quarterfinals.
The SA duo prevailed 6-1 7-5 in just 65 minutes to book their place in the semifinals of the ATP Challenger 80 event being played at the North-West University in Potchefstroom.
The first set was a masterclass from Klaasen and Roelofse as they won it untroubled in just 29 minutes.
The second set was far tighter, but Klaasen and Roelofse dug deep and secured victory.
In the singles event, Turkish sixth seed Cem Ilkel, Taiwanese Chun-hsin Tseng, Dimitar Kuzmanov of Bulgaria and British qualifier Liam Broady have all advanced to the quarterfinal round after victories in their respective matches.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old SA rising star Zoe Kruger secured her place in the quarterfinals of the Ilana Kloss International after defeating Dutch third seed Bibiane Schoofs in straight sets at the university.
The opening set was competitive, but the SA wildcard eventually took it 6-4. The contest soon became one-sided, with Schoofs getting just one game on the board as she went down 6-1 in the second.
Kruger will next face unseeded Hungarian Anna Bondar for a place in the semifinal of the ITF $25,000 World Tour event.
“My match today was really tough. Luckily it wasn’t as long as my previous matches, but I still had to fight to get through it,” said Kruger.
“The opponent I played was a bit older than I am, and she was really, really tough, and very nice as well. We respected each other on court and I think it was a great match.”
Zoe’s sister Isabella’s good run in the tournament ended in the second round after falling to fourth seed Reka-Luca Jani of Hungary 6-3 6-1. — Sowetan Reporter