Rwandan tennis players lost to their Nigeria counterparts 3-0 in their Group A opening matches on Tuesday at the ongoing Davis Cup Africa Zone Group III Tennis Championship underway in Kenya. The multi-category tournament started on Saturday and will through June 24 at Nairobi Tennis Club. It was a battle of the top seeds in the first singles rubber with Ernest Habiyambere taking on Nigeria’s Emmanuel Sylvester in the first game. The latter won against Habiyambere 6-1, 7-5 (5). The Rwandan youngster put up a fight on the way to level the score to 5-5 in the second set, but 19-year-old made 3 double faults giving away the advantage to the Nigerian to break the tie and secure a crucial win after one hour and seven minutes of battle. On the other hand, it only took 48 minutes for Nigeria’s Joseph Ubon Imeh to trounce Rwanda’s second seed Olivier Havugimana in straight sets; 6-0, 6-1 respectively. In the doubles category, Nigerian pair of Paul Christian and Ubon Imeh combined for an effortless sweep as they overpowered Rwanda’s Gatete Hamissi and Etienne Niyigena by 6-1, 6-2 to take the lead in Group A. The result is a significant damage for Rwanda in the week-long showpiece, for a country that is ranked 120th globally in the Davis Cup rankings. In Pool B, hosts Kenya and Namibia both made pristine starts in their bid for Davis Cup promotion by chalking up 3-0 victory each in their opening tussles on Monday. Kenyan top seed Ismail Changawa beat Ugandan counterpart Boris Aguma 6-2, 6-1 while Sheil Kotecha overcame Uganda’s David Oringa 6-4, 7-6 (4) in another match. Kenyan siblings; Kevin Cheruiyot and Ibrahim Kibet edged out the Ugandan pair of Simon Ayella and Frank Tayebwa 6-2, 6-3 to get off to a perfect start. Elsewhere, Namibia collected an easy 3-0 win over Algeria in Pool A. Rwanda is pooled in Group A alongside Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
