The same two singles champions stood on top of the podium again at Curro Hillcrest on Sunday, as Khololwam Montsi and Polina Leykina backed up their opening-week wins with further titles in week two of the Curro Centre Court Series.

The series forms part of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tour and is being played at the Curro Hillcrest courts.

Khololwam claimed the men’s M15 title with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Israel’s Ofek Shimanov, while Russia’s Polina won the women’s W35 final 6-4, 6-2 against Egypt’s Jana Hossam Salah.

Khololwam wins physical final

Khololwam’s week two victory came after a final that lasted nearly two hours and demanded long periods of defensive work from the South African.

He had struggled to find his best tennis at last year’s series, where a quarter-final finish was his strongest result. This year has taken a different shape. After his week one title, he added a second trophy and kept himself in contention for a third consecutive title in week three.

Two breaks of serve gave Khololwam the first set, although Ofek kept pressure on his service games and forced him to deuce three times. The second set brought longer rallies, with both players moving each other across the court. After one extended point, Khololwam lay flat on his back to recover.

Both players broke serve early in the second set before Khololwam broke again to lead 5-3. He then dropped serve while trying to close out the match, but broke Ofek for a third time in the next game to take the title.

‘This match was a real battle. Ofek made me run a lot and he is an aggressive player. It wasn’t easy and I had to call on my terrier instincts and chase everything down,’ he said.

Ofek, who had improved on his semi-final finish from week one, acknowledged Khololwam’s performance.

‘Kholo deserved to win. He played really good tennis and I was battling to get to the balls in the end,’ said Ofek.

Polina adapts again

Polina’s second straight title came through a different kind of control.

Jana, playing the series for the first time after missing week one, brought natural power to the women’s final. Polina, seeded seventh, slowed the tempo and used higher returns to push the Egyptian deep behind the baseline, drawing errors and limiting Jana’s preferred rhythm.

The result gave Polina another title at Curro Hillcrest after she had lost one of the women’s singles finals at last year’s series.

‘I lost in one of the women’s singles finals last year and made a promise to put that right and a year later, I have won two in two weeks with a third hopefully on the horizon,’ said Polina. ‘I am shorter than most players and conditions here allow me to slow the game down and it’s given me two titles. I can play faster, flatter more aggressive tennis but I adapt to what works for me.’

Jana said the final gave her a clear view of the challenge Polina presents.

‘Polina played a totally different game and style to what I am used to and deserved to win. If we meet again, I know what to expect,’ said Jana.

South African pair take men’s doubles

South Africa also had a title in the men’s doubles, where Devin Badenhorst and Luc Koenig defeated Giulio Perego of Italy and Rocco Piatti of Monaco 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 in a match tiebreaker.

The women’s doubles title went to the number one seeds, Astrid Cirotte of France and Jenny Duerst of Switzerland, for the second consecutive week. They beat Polina and Ksenia Smirnova of Russia 4-6, 6-2, 10-7 in a match tiebreaker.

Week three of the Curro Centre Court Series continues at the same venue and finishes on 18 July.