Johannesburg – SA’s number one wheelchair tennis player Lucas Sithole has finished the 2015 Daegu Open with two titles.
Sithole produced a tactical masterclass to defeat Japan’s Mitsuteru Moroishi 6-3 6-2 in the final and claimed a third quads singles title at Daegu Open in the Korea Republic.
The former US Open champion Sithole went on to win his second Daegu Open doubles title as he teamed up with Great Britain’s Anthony Cotterill to beat Japanese duo Shota Kawano/Mitsuteru Moroishi in straight sets 6-1 6-2 to claim the title.
Sithole lost to his doubles partner Dylan Alcott of Australia in the semi-final round in last year’s tournament and he is hoping to do better this year.
“Korea has been great and I am excited for winning the three titles as this is a boost for me going into the French Open. I am happy with my performance at this stage and I am looking for a win in Paris”, said Sithole.
Evans Maripa, meanwhile, produced arguably his most focused performance in the tournament but slipped to Dutchman Tom Egberink in the men’s final on Saturday.
Maripa stunned top seed Takashi Sanada 7-5 7-5 to deny the world number eight a place in the finals at Daegu Open on Friday.
The result was another significant milestone for Maripa, who has beaten Miki for the first time. After the scintillating display by Maripa eliminating top seed Sanada in men’s semifinal, Dutch-Man Tom Egberink stopped Maripa’s winning streak when he defeated the 24-year old 7-6 6-3 in Saturday’s finals to claim the Daegu Open men’s singles title.
Maripa, Leon Els, Mariska Venter and Bongani Dlamini will go on to play the Busan Open, an ITF 2 Series event to be staged in Busan City, Korea Republic from June 15 to 18. The team will be without the country’s top women player, Kgothatso “KG” Montjane who is coming home to recover from a severe throat infection.