FRIDAY, 9.45AM:
AMANDA COETZER, world women’s tennis number five, has confirmed that she will play in the $200 000 MTN Women’s Classic at the Northgate Dome from April 23-26.
Coetzer was a doubtful starter for the tournament, as she was scheduled to defend her title at the Budapest Open, but a berth was kept open for her anyway.
Her release from the Budapest Open was confirmed on Thursday, and Coetzer will take her place to compete with Conchita Martinez, Steffi Graf, Anna Kournikova, Mary Joe Fernandez and Chanda Rubin.
Coetzer is thrilled by the news according to her local agent Bruce Davidson. Davidson said that Coetzer is “looking forward to hosting her fellow professionals in her own country”.
SPORT BRIEFS
GAUTENG NORTH TAKE BOWLS TITLE
GAUTENG North are the first winners of the Bowls SA women’s TAS provincial championships. The Gauteng team beat Border by 5-0 in the final, winning both fixtures by large margins. Southern Natal claimed third spot.
TOP SA LADIES TEE OFF
SOUTH Africa’s top women’s golf professionals, Mandy Adamson, Caryn Louw, Barbara Pestana and Laurette Maritz, lead the list of 60 entries for the R125 000 Vodacom Ladies SA Open over 54 holes at Kensington Golf Club from April 2-4.
ZAMBIAN RED-CARDED FOR FAKE PASSPORT
FIRST Division side Dynamos were fined R5 000 for negligence by the Premier Soccer League after their Zambian-born striker Costa Nkonde was found to have a forged passport. Nkonde has been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing, and his agents Kennedy Mobyala and Patrick Milaso have been barred from operating in SA for life. Nkonde has reportedly been arrested and police have confirmed they are invetigating.
RAU AND TUKKIES CLASH
THE rugby teams of the Rand Afrikaans University and the University of Pretoria (Tukkies) will meet this Saturday in their clash for the Intervarsity rugby title. This year’s Intervarsity will be the first since 1996, as 1997’s fixture was cancelled following problems fixing a date for the game.