STELLENBOSCH, December 3, 2017
She had to qualify for the tournament, then had to fight her way back into two matches being match points down in one before Salma Ewing won the Digicall Futures 2 tennis title, held at the Maties Tennis Club in Stellenbosch.
Salma Ewing and Chanel Simmonds
The 17-year-old from the United States caused a major upset when she beat first seed Chanel Simmonds from South Africa on Sunday afternoon. Ewing needed two hours and 21 minutes to secure a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
“Winning this title means a lot to me. My mom is from South Africa so to comeback here and win a tennis tournament in her home country is amazing. This week was special. To finally take the title after almost losing is great. I am really excited about the last week,” said Ewing after beating last week’s winner and clinching her first ever title on the ITF Pro Circuit.
Matjes Takes Men’s Title
Later in the day, the men’s final was won by last week’s finalist Leny Mitjana from France. The fifth seed got the better of second favourite Takanyi Garanganga from Zimbabwe in 6-2, 6-4.
Leny Mitjana and Takanyi Garanganga
Mitjana capitalized on five of his 11 break point chances to prevail after two hours and eight minutes.
“I am very happy to win this tournament, every match was difficult for me. I tried not to think about it too much and just tried to play my game. I am so happy to win this tournament. To reach the final and win is what I want to do. Now I’m looking forward to the third and final tournament,” said Mitjana after lifting his maiden trophy.
The 23-year-old right hander earned $2,160 in prize money as well as 18 ATP ranking points. The main draw action of the Digicall Futures 3 starts on Tuesday.
