07 Apr 2024

Botswana junior tennis ace, Mark Nawa has admitted he needed to work on his nerves, especially in the finals they  often prevent him from doing his best.

Nawa admitted in an interview after going down 3-6, 2-6 against South African, Guy Vorwerk in the singles of the ITF World Tennis Tour J30 Men’s finals in Gaborone on April 6.

It was the third time in their careers that the two met, with Vorwerk getting the better of Nawa each time.

“This is my fourth final and each time I keep coming out unlucky, so I think I was just a bit scared that it might happen again. I think if I want to get a tittle I will have to work on my mental strength sooner than later,” he said.

Nawa however, said all it needed was for him to win a tittle so that he could get the pressure off him.

Despite the loss, he said his general play was much improved compared to his past performances.

“It was a good match and although he is at a much higher level than me, I feel that this time I put much of a fight and was able to play much better,” he said.

Nawa said his game against Verwerk also made him understand what he needed to do ahead of the second round of the J30 this week.

For his part, Verwerk hailed Nawa as a tough opponent and that he was happy to have played him in the final.

“We have known each other for a long time and it was great to compete against him and each time he gives me a quality game,” he said.

In the ladies singles final, Luise Van Rensburg got the better of her fellow South African, Celina Joseph 6-4,6-3.

Meanwhile tournament director, Matshidiso Malope said they were happy with the player turn up as they attracted 77 players, 18 of whom were locals.

“This is a good improvement from last year when we have only about 63 players, and we hope that for the second round, which will run from April 8 to 13 will be much better,” he said.

Malope said despite the tournament running smoothly without much challenges, their perpetual concern continued to be lack of sponsors.

“The tournament was self-funded by the association and through entry fees. A sponsorship would come in handy and would alleviate the financial burden from the association,” he said.

Malope said the challenge with finding sponsors was that potential sponsors were not that much, leading to most sporting codes knocking on the same doors. ENDS