VILNIUS – The South African women’s tennis team were off to an excellent start at the Billie Jean King Cup Europe/Africa Group III tournament, in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Tuesday.
South Africa thumped their African neighbours Namibia 3-0 in their first Group F clash.
Tournament debutante Delien Kleinhans went out first for South Africa and wasted no time beating Carita Moolman (Namibia) in straight sets 6-1 6-0.
Later Chanel Simmonds, the South African No 1 gave her country another victory over the Namibians by defeating Georgina Moolman, 6-0 6-1, to give South Africa a 2-0 lead.
In the final rubber of the day, Simmonds teamed up with debutante Lara van der Merwe for the doubles match.
South Africa made a perfect start to their @BJKCup Euro/Africa Group III event in Vilnius.
— Tennis South Africa (@TennisSA) June 15, 2021
South Africa 🇿🇦 bt Namibia 🇳🇦 3️⃣➖0️⃣
➡️Delien Kleinhas d. C Moolman 6-1, 6-0
➡️Chanel Simmonds d. G Moolman 6-0, 6-1
➡️Simmonds / Lara van der Merwe d. Moolman / Theron 6-0, 6-1#BJKCup pic.twitter.com/BS5Etm4yp0
The South Africans disposed of Georgina Moolman and Theron 6-0 6-1 in less than an hour to give South Africa the all-important 3-0 victory.
Team captain Roxanne Clarke was pleased with her team’s overall performance against Namibia, “I’m happy with the way the team came out to play today. We were focused and certainly took care of business.”
“It feels great to get that first win under our belt and to get rid of those first match jitters. Even though we were not really tested, this tie was meaningful for building our confidence for the rest of the tournament,” added Clarke.