It will be an all Kenyan affair when Seline Ahoya will face Nancy Kawira in women’s tennis final at the ANOCA Zone 5 Youth Games entered its second day today at Kenyatta University.
Kawira edged out compatriot Michelle Murage before she wrapped up the round-robin phase with a 6-3, 6-4 against Uganda’s Lilian Ayee while Ahoya, a student at Lavington Girls Secondary School, maintained her unbeaten run after defeating compatriot Jenerica Thuku 6-2, 6-2 before completing her round-robin campaign with Tanzania’s Hadija Msangi.
The 17-year-old Ahoya, who is playing only her second tournament of the year after a three-month break, was delighted with her progress.
“My match was average because I was a little bit scared at first. There reached a point where I did not know what to do, but I just kept the balls in so that my opponent would not see my weakness,” disclosed Ahoya.
Ahoya later described her victory over Msangi as an easy match, saying the win secured her place in the final.
Ayee also remained in contention after outwitting Msangi 6-4, 6-2. Ayee explained that she exploited her opponent’s lack of movement and was now targeting victory against Kawira to qualify for the final. She later lost to Kawira.
“I have played Kawira before and she won, but I had tried my best. My target in the next match against Kawira is to win and qualify for the final,” said Ayee before losing to Kawira again.
Murage appeared in control after opening a 4-2 advantage, but a series of errors, including a double fault, allowed Kawira to level at 4-4. Kawira then moved 5-4 ahead after Murage hit wide before another wide shot and three consecutive service errors handed Kawira the set.
“I lost my first match against Ahoya, but I played it well. I won my next two matches and want to win my remaining matches so that I get into the semi-finals.”
In the boys’ competition, Edward Mwakio, 18, from Highway Secondary School in Nairobi, overwhelmed Somalia’s Asad Ibrahim 6-0, 6-0.
Mwakio revealed that he stuck to his game plan after noticing his opponent was struggling to keep the ball in play.
“I did not play very well like in my last two matches. I am not happy with the result, but my target remains to win this tournament. I will win it,” declared Okello.
Ochieng, 17, from Rabondo High School in Migori County, revealed the challenges he faces as a self-taught player.
“I have no coach. I train myself alone. In our school, I am the only one who plays tennis. I use my phone to watch on YouTube how people play their games,” he noted.
Somalia coach Abdulkar Omar Ghedi said the tournament was a valuable experience for his two players despite the country’s shortage of facilities.
“We don’t have many tennis courts. We have one or two playable courts only. We have many players, about 20 to 50, but not enough courts,” he revealed.
Boys final will be between Okello and Kenya’s Mark Murage. Murage stunned Mwakio 7-5,3-6,10-5 as Okello thrashed Kenya’s Jyan Patel 6-3, 6-1 in semi-final stage on Wednesday