admin
Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S top juniors, Ronan Mtisi and Kudzai Chapepa are through to the semi-finals of the ITF World Tennis Tour currently underway at Bulawayo Country Club.
Chapepa, the tournament number one seed, beat eighth seeded Israeli Abigail Rosenski 6-3 6-0 in the quarter finals to book a semi-final tie against unseeded Anya Taylor who needed three sets to beat another Israeli, Eden Sarely.
Taylor won the first set 6-4 before a close 5-7 second set loss took them to a third set, the only one at this stage of the competition, which Taylor won 6-3 to book her place in the semi-finals, which will be played today.
In the second-half of the girls under-18 draw, tournament second seed, Zahara El-Zein lost 6-1 6-2 to New Zealander, Ceressa Jackson while Girls College’s Simphiwe Malunguza failed to make it past the quarters after her 6-1 6-1 defeat to South African, Milan Swanepoel.
Second seed Mtisi needed three sets to get past South African Oluhle Senti who was seeded seventh. Mtisi won the match 6-3, 1-6, 6-1. The victory booked Mtisi a semi-final tie against Namibian, Israel Dowie who beat Indian, Dev Vipul Patel 6-1, 6-4.
In other quarter-final matches, South African Cuan Western got the better of Australian Om Kumaran Chinnaswamy 6-4, 7-5 while top seed Rishi Ragav Janakaraj beat South African sixth seed, Tshepang Maisela 6-1, 7-6 (6) and booked a semi-final tie against Western.
In doubles action, top seeds, Chinnaswamy and Janakaraj are in the final after a relatively easy semi-final tie against the South African pair of Maisela and Senti. The top seeds won their doubles match 6-0, 6-1 to book a meeting against Mtisi and his doubles partner, Western.
In the girls’ doubles tournament, Chapepa and her partner, Swanepoel beat Malunguza and Taylor 6-0, 6-3 in the first semi-final while Xintong Jiang (China) and Karolina Kostiukova (Ukraine) 6-4, 6-2 in the other semi.
Chapepa’s doubles semi-final victory confirmed her status as one of the best junior tennis players in Africa while Mtisi showed some of the experience gained from being part of the Davis Cup team.
Speaking to B-Metro yesterday, tournament director and Bulawayo Tennis Board chairman, Raggs Chikunichawa said he was happy with the way both legs of the tournament have progressed.
“I am very happy that the tournament has been played in a very competitive but good spirit. Both boys and girls have brought their A games to Bulawayo and given us two weeks of very good tennis. I am also very happy with the level of competitiveness of our locals and I am sure they will continue to improve as they play more such tournaments,” Chikunichawa told B-Metro Sport.
Chikunichawa also hailed local umpires for keeping their officiating all through the tournament.
Online Reporter