Tennis
SA remain unbeaten in tie
2012-04-19 17:42
Johannesburg - The young South African women's team picked up their second straight
win, storming to a 3-0 victory over top seeds Finland in the Fed Cup
Euro-Africa Group II tournament in Cairo, Egypt, on Thursday.
Teenager
Ilze Hattingh was again in fine form, with the 15-year-old coasting to a
straight-sets 6-2, 6-1 win over Johanna Hyoty, while veteran Natalie
Grandin defeated Piia Suomalainen 6-4, 6-3 in the other singles match.
Madrie
Le Roux celebrated her 17th birthday, pairing up again with Grandin for
a comfortable 6-0, 6-1 win over Hyoty and Ella Leivo to secure the
whitewash.
"The team is performing beyond expectations," said the side's captain John-Laffnie de Jager.
"I
am honoured and privileged to be playing for South Africa with our new
caps who, through their sterling performances, are proving to be a great
asset for the future of tennis in South Africa."
The South
Africans, promoted this season from Euro-Africa Group III, had also
bagged a 3-0 win over Denmark on Wednesday's opening day.
They face Montenegro in their third and final pool match on Friday.
"We
haven't lost a tie yet and my team has made a perfect start but we
realized that it is important to keep the intensity and put everything
into the remaining matches."
"Tomorrow (Friday) we play
Montenegro and we will go into that tie as prepared as we were for our
previous two and try to pull off a third win in a row."
The top
teams in each pool will play for promotion to Euro-Africa Group I next
season, while the two bottom sides will square off in an effort to
escape relegation.