Rwandan representatives Junior Hakizumwami and Claude Ishimwe have been knocked out of Rwanda Open M25 week II taking place in Kigali following Wednesday’s first round defeats to India’s Kabir Hans and Dev Prajwal respectively.

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Ishimwe and Hakizumwami are among three Rwandans who were granted wild cards to participate in the week long tennis tournament which is underway at Kigali Ecology Tennis Club from September 11-17.

Hakizumwami, 17, bowed out of the competition after shock 6-4, 6-2 singles first round defeat to India’s Hans while countryman Ishimwe put a substandard performance in 6-0, 6-0 defeat at the hands of Prajwal.

Strong start Wenger and Crowford

Meanwhile, Week I champion Damien Wenger and runner-up Oliver Crawford started the second week of the tournament on an impressive note.

Wenger beat Australia’s Lawrence Batajin 6-0 6-2 while Crawford saw off India’s Raghav Jaisinghani after beating him in two sets 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the second round.

The overall winner of the tournament gets 25 points on top of a cash prize of $3,600.

Rwanda Open used to bring together tennis players from the region but, after adding it to the ITF World Tennis Tour "Futures” calendar, organisers (Rwanda Tennis Federation) opened doors to professional tennis players including Wenger and many others from across the globe as per of making it more competitive.

A host of professional tennis players have not only shown interest but also confirmed their participation in the competition since it gives points to the ATP ranking as well increased prize money.