Rwanda’s Tennis players have started their Davis Cup Africa Group 3 tournament campaign on a disappointing note after losing 3-0 to their East African rivals Kenya in their Group B opener at the Smash Sporting Club in Cairo, Egypt Wednesday. Etienne Niyigena and Bertin Karenzi both lost their opening games against Kenya’s Ismael Changawa and Albert Njogu in singles matches respectively while Joshua Muhire and Joseph Mfashingabo were also defeated by Kenyan duo of Kevin Cheruiyot and Ibrahim Kibet in the doubles match. Rwanda advanced to the third round after finishing second in the 2019 Davis Cup Africa Zone Group IV Tennis Championships in Congo Brazzaville in June. However, their frustrating start in the tournament against Kenya shows that they still have a lot of work to do. Davis Cup debutant Niyigena, 26, with started shy in the court as he struggled to prevent the threat from Njongu who comfortably beat him 6-1, 6-1 to come off to a winning start. Niyigena, who traveled with his teammates to Egypt with a mission to win the Davis Cup, proved not ready to cope with Kenyan’s strong serves and his speed on the court as he reigned supreme in all his games in both sets. In the second fixture, Ismael Changawa, who currently ranks 1893rd in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) singles rankings, swept 19-year-old Bertin Karenzi aside with two straight sets 7-6(4), 6-2. Karenzi, who sits 1607th in the ITF junior rankings, proved too hard to break for the Kenyan star in the first set, equaling each game with ease forcing them into a tie break that saw the Kenyan put in extra effort to win four points in the first game to break the tie. In the doubles match, Cheruiyot and Kibet thrashed Muhire and Mfashingabo in straight sets of 6-4, 6-2 to complete the sweep. The Kenyan duo struggled in the first four games in the first set with their serves, but picked up in the last two to finish on top. In the second set, Cheruiyot and Kibet breezed past Muhire and Mfashingabo, who had dominated the first two games in the set. Rwanda is placed in group B alongside Kenya, Ghana and Mozambique in the seven team contest while hosts Egypt find themselves in three-tem Group A alongside Algeria and Benin after Madagascar withdrew from the competition. The top two teams at the end of the round-robin format will advance to the semis, with the winner of Group A facing the runner-up of Group B, and the winner of Group B facing the runner-up of Group A. The two finalists will advance to the 2022 World Group II Playoffs while the two teams finishing third in their groups will enter a relegation play-off, with the beaten team joining the team finishing fourth in contesting Africa Group IV in 2022.
