Israel Dowie (14) wins first senior tournament

Israel Dowie’s rise in the tennis world reached another significant milestone in Cape Town last weekend, when he entered – and won – his first senior men’s tournament.The 14-year-old Namibian born Cape Town native won the Cape Town Mini 2 senior tournament in impressive fashion on Saturday.Out of 16 players in the main draw, Dowie was by far the youngest – yet, was ranked the top seed beforehand, based on his previous record of points and rankings in international ITF or local South African tournaments.Dowie’s current ranking among the top three under-16 players in South Africa (and among the top-five worldwide) allowed him exemption to play in the senior tournament.His father Duane explains: “South Africa does not make provision for under-18 competitions. Once you are over 16, you compete as a senior.”“Last weekend was a great win for us, since it was Israel’s first tournament in a men’s division. “Having to return serves of 200 km/h (124 miles per hour) presented quite a new challenge for him, physically and mentally.”Israel, born 26 October 2010, has previously excelled in European junior tournaments as well. Over the next three months he is looking forward to competing in upcoming tournaments in Botswana, Namibia, Pretoria en Harare, Duane says. Winning streakLast weekend in the Cape Town Mini 2 senior tournament, Dowie entered the quarter-final stage with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Luca Granvogl (RSA), before eliminating Tshepang Maisela (RSA) 6-4, 6-0.Third seed Matt Lekay (RSA) was his next opponent in the semi-final, in which Dowie triumphed 6-1, 7-5.This result brought him to the final against 17-year-old Toit Malan (RSA), who fought back strongly in the second set before the Namibian clinched the tie-break (6-3, 3-6, 10-7).

Israel Dowie (14) wins first senior tournament

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-12

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Israel Dowie (14) wins first senior tournament

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-12

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