Seetso moves closer to Grand Slam dream
Mqondisi Dube | Saturday June 18, 2022 06:00
The 17-year-old won his second ITF title when he brushed aside South African, Rohan Loubser. Seetso’s latest triumph came in Pretoria last Friday where he was the top seed in the ITF/CAT J4 tournament. He breezed through to the final where he met regular South African opponent, Loubser and won 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to wrap up his second major trophy after a similar triumph in Gaborone in April.
Now the BTA sees Seetso blazing the trail and going all the way to represent the country at a junior Grand Slam, which will be a first for Botswana. “It is not a surprise that he won in Pretoria. He is talented and we see him playing junior French Open or the Wimbledon,” the president of the Botswana Tennis Association Oaitse Thipe said. He said it was encouraging that other youngsters are doing well on the international circuit like Mark Nawa. “Nawa started the year ranked outside the top 1,000 (but is now at 783).
He was supposed to play in the Pretoria tournament but he fell ill. But we still need to invest a lot in our grassroots sports. We now have a full-time coach in Maun who goes around primary schools identifying talent,” he said. Seetso’s ITF rankings jumped by 61 places to 282 after his exploits in Pretoria and he remains the top-ranked junior player locally.
The player is remaining grounded following his recent successes. “I was the number one seed at the Pretoria tournament but I didn’t put any expectation to win on myself. It wasn’t really a surprise (that I won) because it was something I was working towards every day,” Seetso told Mmegi Sport. He is hopeful of making the junior grand slam next year. “I am going to be part of the Botswana team playing at the Davis Cup this year. To get to the grand slams, I still need to get my ranking up and hopefully, I will be there next year,” he said. “I attribute my form to my coach, Phenyo Matong and Tru Tennis, my physio at Physio Body Works, and my mother,” Seetso added. His coach, Matong said his wins were a culmination of hard work. “Denzel has trained hard over the past eight years and I think that has helped him to get where he is now.
His ranking will improve a lot more,” Matong said. Matong sees Seetso excelling in his career and advised that it was time for the 17-year-old to start competing in Europe. “I see him going very far and competing at the highest level. How far he goes will depend on how much support he has access to because attending international events is costly. He has won a lot in Africa and now has to play more overseas,” Matong said. Another player knocking on the junior grand slam door is Ekua Youri who is ranked in position 388. Youri and Seetso need to push their rankings up to the top 100 to earn a shot at the grand slams.
Meanwhile, the latest ITF rankings have Seetso as Botswana’s top-ranked player, with Nawa in second place. Batsomi Marobela is ranked 1,051 after dropping 15 places while Oabona Koobatlile is a distant 2,614. Youri is the highest-ranked female where she remained unchanged at position 388. Chelsea Chakanyuka is Botswana’s other player ranked in the top 1,000, where she finds herself at number 934. Chakanyuka has dropped 45 places in the latest rankings released on Monday.