SA's Kgothatso Montjane makes history reaching Wimbledon final
World No.5 wheelchair tennis star Kgothatso Montjane ousted Momoko Ohtani 7-6(3) 4-6 6-4 to reach her first Wimbledon final at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London on Friday.
In a big-hitting and big-serving affair‚ it was Montjane who created more opportunities to edge past Japanese World No.6 Ohtani.
It’s a first Wimbledon final and a first Grand Slam singles final for the Limpopo-born star‚ who will now face top seed and world No.1 Diede de Groot from the Netherlands in Saturday’s final.
The 35-year-old from Seshego became the first African woman to play at Wimbledon in 2018 after she was awarded a wild card and reached the semifinals.
“I am proud to be blazing the trail for the next generation of female athletes. There’s no limit to what you’re capable of‚” said Montjane after receiving the wild card in 2018.
On Friday Montjane wrote her name in the history books by becoming the first black SA woman to reach the final at Wimbledon.
“I am just so happy to have made my first ever Grand Slam singles final‚” Montjane said after her match.
She will be in action again on Friday evening when she begins her doubles campaign with her British partner Lucy Shuker against top seeds De Groot and Aniek van Koot.