Nemeses Dzuwa and Mugabe also record wins

KCB Open

Venue-Nairobi Club
Prize Money – US$ 8,945
First Round (Men)
J.C Gasigwa (Rwa) bt C. Stephen (Tz) 6-3, 6-4
M. Dzuwa (Zim) bt M. Muchenje (Zim) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
D. Mugabe (Ug) bt V. Okumu (Ken) 6-2, 6-2
F. Rogoi (Ken) bt K. Kisoso (Ken) 6-1, 6-3

Ladies
J. Keter (Ken) bt M. Ingabire (Rwa) 6-3, 6-0

Rwanda’s top seed Jean Claude Gasigwa put up an  impressive performance to earn a 6-3 6-4 victory over Tanzanian  Charles Stephen in the first round of the KCB Kenyan Open Championships yesterday morning in Nairobi to keep his hat-trick dreams alive .

The 26-year-old, seeded second in the tournament made an excellent start to his week by seeing off Tanzania’s Charles Stephen 6-3 6-4 in the first round.

In the second round match the Rwandan ace dispatched off Uganda’s Richard Ssemanda 6-0, 6-3 to sail through to the quarterfinals.

"I’m not getting carried away because I know that there is still a long way to go,” he said.

The tournament’s top seeds were also on the winning end yesterday. Top seed Duncan Mugabe (Uganda) thumped Victor Okumu 6-2, 6-2 while home boy Francis Rogoi silenced his critics with a commanding 6-1, 6-3 victory.

Defending champion Martin Dzuwa of Zimbabwe almost paid for a lapse in concentration. The Zimbabwean was stretched into the decisive but still pulled through 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

In the ladies category, Rwanda’s only representative Meagan Ingabire blamed her first round exit to the poor court conditions.

Ingabire lost 3-6, 0-6 against Kenya’s Joie Keter but quickly blamed the court for the loss.

"The court was very unpredictable and dangerous,” she miserably said. The Open winds up this Sunday and US$1000.is at stake for the winner.

Over 150 players are to taking part in the 2009 KCB Kenya Open tennis championship which started on Tuesday with the juniors’ action.

The event started off with the junior tournament for all junior age categories to be played in line with Grand Slam events which run junior events before the main tournament. The senior event will run thereafter, between February 23 and March 1.

Jean Claude Gasigwa now wants to wrap up a hat-trick of titles when he starts his Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Tennis Open campaign at Nairobi Club.

Gasigwa, a losing finalist at last year’s edition secured his second title of the season on Sunday after a 6-3, 7-5 straight sets victory over Francis Rogoi of Kenya in the Uganda Open men’s final.

Meanwhile, after years of mediocre performances in the competition, Kenya’s top players like Rogoi, Allan Cooper and Gilbert Kibet are under pressure to perform but will have to contend with the likes of defending champion Martin Dzuwa (Zimbabwe), Uganda’s number one Duncan Mugabe and the in-form Gasigwa.

Ends