Tennis :Zacharia qualify for third round

Only two Kenyan players have made it to the third qualifying round of the International Tennis Championship in Gaborone, Botswana on Wednesday.

Gabriel Teja and the girls' under-16 Nicole Zacharia were the only Kenyan players who went past their opponents in the week-long tournament.


Competing in the boys' under-14, Teja proved a hard nut to crack as he dismissed Abdoulaye Bagayoko from Mali 6-3, 7-5.Zacharia, the only seeded Kenyan player in the championship, got a bye and meets Pulane Monyatsi of Lesotho for a quarterfinal berth.

Speaking on phone from Botswana, the team's head coach, Allan Cooper, said competition was tight.

"I must say players from South Africa and Egypt in particular are very tactical. Despite this fact, our players have given their best in their respective matches, their losses notwithstanding," said Cooper.

The coach said other players' excellence could be pegged on numerous competitions they have engaging in in the past.

"I don't say that our players lack exposure, but in comparison to their counterparts, we are quite behind. There ought to be more competitive tournaments held so as to have our players get used to high level tennis," he added.

After easily sidelining home player, Othusitse Reetsang, in straight sets of 6-1, 6-0 in the boys' under-18 category, Kevin Kisoso found the going tough as he crashed 6-2, 7-6(2) to Anthony Cugnetto of Australia.

In the same category, Yash Rawal lost 6-1, 6-0 to Hemus Pieters of South Africa. He had been given a bye to the second round of the qualifiers. Others who lost their matches include, Rhoda Chebet, Nikita Dawda and Joie Keter. Gilbert Kibet, Dennis Ochieng and Shufaa Changawa were not lucky either in the specialties.

Chebet, who left the country late last month for trials in the US, lost 6-1, 6-0 to Foune Konare of Mali, while General Motors under-16 champion, Dawda was defeated 6-0, 6-0 by Zarah Razafimhatratra of Madagascar.Keter, who is ranked 1096, could not match the raw determination of her South African opponent, Sarah Du Plessis, who handed her a 6-2, 6-0 drubbing. She is ranked 880.

Kibet and Ochieng also lost to Duncan Mugabe of Uganda and South Africa's Juan De Villiers 76(3), 6-4 and 6-3, 6-2 respectively.

Despite their early exit from the tournament's trophy hunt, the players will compete among those who have also failed to advance, as it will help them improve the country's overall ranking.