Cape Town — The International Tennis Federation’s week-long Young Seniors World Team Championships (35 to 45 years) ran its course in Cape Town on Friday and France emerged as the big winners with four titles bagged in the six age divisions.
A total of 85 teams from 25 nations took part in the event.
There was little to shout about for SA’s men and women, though the women’s over-45s side battled it out with defending champions and top-seeded Spain for the Margaret Court Cup but went down 2-0 in the singles format.
The Spaniards had wiped all before them en route to the gold medal match with sixth-seeded SA and they went on to edge the hosts in front of the biggest crowd of the week, with both singles rubbers outcomes decided over three sets.
Noelia Perez-Penate was first on court for Spain at the Western Province tennis courts on Friday and beat SA’s Lettica Venter 6-3 4-6 6-1 before Ana Salas-Lozano settled the tie in favour of the pretournament favourites with a hard-fought 1-6 6-3 6-4 win over Jacqueline Booth.
The second-seeded Netherlands picked up the second gold medal on offer in the men’s over-45 competition when they beat top-seeded France 2-1 to clinch the Dubler Cup at Green Point Tennis Club.
France then took ownership of the showpiece played annually around the globe by winning the remaining four titles.
Their over-35 women were seeded one and they duly obliged in despatching the third-seeded Netherlands 2-0 (singles format) to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup. Then it was the turn of the men to seal a second gold when, as the top seeds in the 45-age category, they saw off third-seeded Spain 2-0 at the Western Province Cricket Club courts to win the Tony Trabert Cup.
France completed the gold medal hat-trick at Pinelands Tennis Club after their third-seeded women’s over-40 team dealt a losing hand to top seeds Spain in a 2-0 triumph.
Their men’s over-35 side rounded off a great first week of action at Kelvin Grove Club courts with a fourth gold collected competing against Great Britain for the Italia Cup, a tie they comfortably won 2-0 in windy conditions.
The ITF Young Seniors World Individual Championships got under way at the same courts in Cape Town on Saturday and ends on Friday.
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