Finalists determined at American Express Junior National Champs

All is set for the champions to be determined on Sunday, with some thrilling matches having been played across all four age groups on Saturday, as a total of 16 individuals progressed beyond the semifinals at the American Express Junior National Championships in Bloemfontein.

In the Boys 18 category, top seed Dehan van Deventer (who plays for Van der Stel Tennis Club in the Western Cape) remained in contention for the SA title after beating No 9 seed Connor Miller (Northern Suburbs Tennis Club, Gauteng) in straight sets, wrapping up a 6-3 6-4 win.

Van Deventer will face No 5 seed Cooper McCarthy (Pinelands Tennis Club, Western Cape) in the final after McCarthy earned a 6-3 6-2 victory over No 12 seed Niel Erasmus (Gerrie Dippenaar Tennis Academy, Gauteng).

There were surprises in the Girls 18 division, with the favourites being eliminated in the semifinals.

The No 5 seed, Meri Sandenbergh (Recreation Tennis Club, Western Cape), dug deep to earn a hard-fought 6-1 3-6 6-3 victory over top seed Roxy Bredenkamp (Coppini Tennis Academy, Western Cape).

In the other semifinal, unseeded player Cara le Grange (Hoopstad Skool, Free State) also produced an upset, bouncing back from a set down to beat No 4 seed Lisa-Mari du Toit (Rhenish High, Western Cape) 2-6 6-1 6-2.

Aside from keeping their title hopes alive, the players who reached the finalis in each age group also received wildcard entries from Tennis South Africa for various international tournaments to be played in South Africa later this year.

Final fixtures on Sunday:

Boys 18 - Deehan van Deventer [1] v Cooper McCarthy [5]

Girls 18 - Meri Sandenbergh [5] v Cara le Grange

Boys 16 - Daniel Brink [1] v Israel Dowie [2]

Girls 16 - Charlotte Bouwer [3] v Lika Claassens [11]

Boys 14 - Tristan Summers [1] v Alec Koch [2]

Girls 14 - Winnie Masemola [1] v Ariana van der Westhuizen [7]

Boys 12 - Zorkan Meyer [1] v David Hobson [2]

Girls 12 - Linja Erasmus [1] v Lesedi Lamola [3]