Mehluli Sibanda loses in ITF juniors final

Mehluli Sibanda’s fairy tale run at the South/Central ITF junior tournament ended in defeat after losing to Great Britain’s Luke Hammond in a thrilling final at Harare Sports Club.  Sibanda had sent shockwaves after ousting tournament top seed seed Alistair Gray on Friday but however found the going tough in Saturday’s final.

The Zimbabwean bright prospect lost the first set 3-6 but however showed a never say die attitude after leveling the match with a 6-4 second set win.

Sibanda however struggled in third set, going down 2-6 to lose the match 3-6, 6-4, 2-6. Defeat was the end of an impressive run which had seen the Zimbabwean top seed unexpectedly storming into Saturday’s final.