After missing out in four Grand Slam finals, SA’s wheelchair tennis star, Kgothatso “KG” Montjane, is confident of breaking her duck in next month’s Wimbledon in London, England. 

Montjane has had a steady season so far and is coming off an impressive display at Ronald Garros in France in June, where she finished in the semifinals of the singles and reached the final in the doubles with her partner Yui Kamiji. 

Looking back on how she performed in the French Open, Montjane was pleased with the effort she gave considering she was not 100% fit as she was carrying a niggling elbow injury. 

“It went well, I didn’t expect to produce such results considering I was at home for three months nursing an elbow injury. I’m proud of going out there and being brave to push to the limit,” she said. 

“Having played in two clay tournaments before, the Ronald Garros helped me with the build-up. Going to the semifinals, even though I wasn’t okay, I was happy with the result.

“In the final, playing with Yui for the first time, we did not expect to reach the final, it was something we both did not expect. Hopefully, shortly we can get to play more,” she said. 

The Polokwane-born tennis sensation has established herself as an all-court specialist, being comfortable on grass, clay and hard courts. This is backed up by how she’s been able to reach the finals of the US Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. 

The only thing missing in Montjane’s CV is a Grand Slam win. With Wimbledon set to start on July 7 for the wheelchair category, Montjane is gunning for victory and wants to do better than her runner-up finish in last year’s edition. 

“I’m going to go out and try to fight for the title again. I hope this year I can do better.

“Every time I go out, I go out to win, and in life you can’t win everything but the most important thing is to keep trusting the process when you’re getting close. 

“I believe it will happen. If I don’t believe in myself, who will believe in me? I believe that very soon I’ll be able to win.”