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Rwanda: Davis Cup – Rwanda Suffers Defeat in Kenya Opener

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5 years ago

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Rwanda’s Tennis players have started their Davis Cup Africa Group 3 tournament campaign on a disappointing note after losing 3-0 to their East African rivals Kenya in their Group B opener at the Smash Sporting Club in Cairo, Egypt Wednesday.

Etienne Niyigena and Bertin Karenzi both lost their opening games against Kenya’s Ismael Changawa and Albert Njogu in singles matches respectively while Joshua Muhire and Joseph Mfashingabo were also defeated by Kenyan duo of Kevin Cheruiyot and Ibrahim Kibet in the doubles match.

Rwanda advanced to the third round after finishing second in the 2019 Davis Cup Africa Zone Group IV Tennis Championships in Congo Brazzaville in June.

However, their frustrating start in the tournament against Kenya shows that they still have a lot of work to do.

Davis Cup debutant Niyigena, 26, with started shy in the court as he struggled to prevent the threat from Njongu who comfortably beat him 6-1, 6-1 to come off to a winning start.

Niyigena, who traveled with his teammates to Egypt with a mission to win the Davis Cup, proved not ready to cope with Kenyan’s strong serves and his speed on the court as he reigned supreme in all his games in both sets.

In the second fixture, Ismael Changawa, who currently ranks 1893rd in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) singles rankings, swept 19-year-old Bertin Karenzi aside with two straight sets 7-6(4), 6-2.

Karenzi, who sits 1607th in the ITF junior rankings, proved too hard to break for the Kenyan star in the first set, equaling each game with ease forcing them into a tie break that saw the Kenyan put in extra effort to win four points in the first game to break the tie.