ITF Men’s Futures
Doubles

O. Nkunda & D. Habiyambere 2-6, 1-6 M. Himananshi & F. Anas

Yesterday

M.Middelkoop 1-6, 4-6 G. Melzer
M. El Khair 6-1, 7-6 M. Diercky

WITH three days of action still to go in the coveted ITF Men’s Futures, Rwanda’s top seeds Jean Claude Gasigwa and Dieudonne Habiyambere have been reduced to mere spectators after being ejected in the doubles category.

Habiyambere who had teamed up with Olivier Nkunda lost to the Egyptian pair of Mohammed Safwat and Fattar Anas 2-6 1-6 while Jean Claude Gasigwa and his Japanese compatriot Yu Takahashi lost 2-6, 6-7 against Castro Matthias and Eduardo Hernandez of Argentina.

But the shock result of the day was Gerald Melzer’s win over the tournament’s top seed and 2008 champion Matwe Middelkoop.

The Australian secured a 6-1 6-4 victory to boost his chances of a first title.Morocco’s Motaz Abou El Khair also ousted Belgium’s Marco Diercky 6-1, 7-6.

With a hefty cash package of Rwf 5.65m in the offing, the winner will pocket a whooping Rwf 1.07m while the second and third runners up will bag Rwf 670,000 and Rwf 450,000 respectively. This year’s edition is jointly sponsored by Heineken and the Sports Ministry (Minispoc).

Ends