Mixed Australian Open fortunes for SA ace Kgothatso Montjane

It was a day of mixed emotions for South Africa’s wheelchair ace Kgothatso Montjane at the Australian Open as she reached the doubles final, but saw her chances of reaching her first Grand Slam singles final end at Melbourne Park on Monday.

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Japanese world No 2 Yui Kamiji ruined any chance for a final spot for South Africa’s leading women’s player Kgothatso Montjane, as she claimed a 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 victory to reach the singles final.

Montjane, the No 6 seed, battled until the bitter end against her 26-year-old Japanese opponent in a match which lasted 1 hour and 47 minutes.

After losing the first set, the 34-year-old South African clawed her way back from 4-2 down in the second set before clinching it 7-5 to set up a decider.

However, an indifferent third set saw Kamiji break Montjane’s serve on three occasions while holding serve herself to win the match.

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Meanwhile, in the doubles, Kgothatso Montjane paired up with her British partner Lucy Shuker to defeat Angelica Bernal of Colombia and Chilean Macarena Cabriliana 6-1, 6-4 in 71 minutes to reach her second grand slam doubles final.

The South African-British pair will next face Dutch top seeds Aniek van Koot and Diede de Groot in the title decider on Tuesday.