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Cape Town - South Africa’s leading women’s wheelchair tennis ace Kgothatso Montjane has been drawn to meet German world number six, Sabine Ellerbrock, in the opening round at Wimbledon when the wheelchair tennis event gets underway at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in London on Thursday.
Montjane will be looking to better her chances against Ellerbrock, having won only seven of their 23 prior meetings on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour. The last time Montjane played Ellerbrock was in the 2017 Bath Indoor Tournament semi-final which the German won in two sets.
Although Ellerbrock has won more often against Montjane, the two are used to pushing each other to the limit. They clashed in a few captivating matches including 2017 SA Open and Swiss Open, and Thursday’s match promises to be another enthralling encounter.
Montjane and Ellerbrock will also partner in doubles competition and will kick off their campaign against second seeds Marjolein Buis (Netherlands) and Giulia Capocci (Italy).
The 33-year-old Montjane will make her second appearance in the grass-court event after reaching the semi-final round at the 2018 event and becoming the first black South African woman to do so.
The world number five ranked player from Seshego in Limpopo earned praises and admiration for her fighting spirit in her Wimbledon debut last year before her brave run ended in the semi-finals against world number one player, Diede de Groot, from the Netherlands.
Montjane, was drawn in the same half as defending champion De Groot, who will face world number four, Marjolein Buis, also from the Netherlands.
If all goes according to plan, the Limpopo-born star who has a challenging draw ahead could potentially play the Dutch world number 1 in the semi-final round.
