Yesterday

First round
JC Gasigwa  bt Morris Leonard 6-1 6-1

Second round
JC Gasigwa  bt Mohammed Kharid 6-1 6-2

Quarter final
JC Gasigwa  v  P. Mucina

After securing means at the very last minute to participate in the event, Jean Claude Gasigwa started on a bright note in this year’s Tanzania Open which kicked off Thursday at Gymkhana Club, Dar es Salaam.

Rwanda’s top seed arrived in Dar es Salaam late on Thursday and as a result he was forced to play three matches in one day (yesterday).

In the opener, Gasigwa defeated Tanzania’s Morris Leonard 6-1 6-1 in the first round before proving his worth in the second round with a 6-1 6-2 win over another Tanzania Mohammed Kharid.

The two wins gave him a ticket to the quarter-finals where he was scheduled to play against Peter Mucina late in the evening.

The 25-year-old reported no sign of fatigue and he was confident of reaching the semi-finals which are set for today despite playing three matches in less than 12 hours.

"I’m strong enough to overcome these challenges and also, I expected all this before coming to Dar es Salaam,” Gasigwa told Times Sport yesterday by telephone after his second round win over Kharid.

Gasigwa is the leading local tennis player in the country after his recent form which has seen him take part in several International Tennis Federation/Confederation of African Tennis Money circuits held on East African soil.

The event has attracted competitors in men, women and veteran singles, doubles and mixed doubles categories. The singles event winners with the exception of veteran and mixed doubles will walk away with $1.000 while the doubles winners are to take home $500.

Ends