Habiyambere tipped for bright future

AFTER winning bronze medal in the just concluded ITF/CAT 14 and Under junior tennis circuit, Ernest Habiyambere is seen as a future champion by many.International Tennis Federation tournament’s referee Patrick Kamuhia told Times Sport yesterday that Habiyambere needs to be monitored closely so as to help him become the next big thing in Rwandan tennis.Kamuhia was in full praise of the 13-year old, who won the first two legs of the ITF/CAT 14 and Under junior circuit played in Burundi, before finishing third in the third leg held in Kigali.Though he lost to Said Nkurunziza (Burundi) in the semi finals, the Rwandan youngster caught everyone’s attention with his performance. In addition to serving at a high percentage rate, Habiyambere displayed a variety of different serves, such as flat, topspin, and slice serves.Much for the same reasons that serving is important, Habiyambere’s aggressiveness on serve returns was also a vital skill that helped him dispatch his opponents.The 13-year old showed confidence when hitting both forehands and backhands and loading up for a winner or scrambling for a tough get, he always finished a point with either wing.Kamuhia said, “At his age, Habiyambere has a great future. He needs support, mentoring and enough training.”“He should be engaged in as many competitions as possible so as to help him get exposure and experience. He is good enough to be a champion in the future,” added the Kenyan ITF referee.The Rwandan is set to jump into the top five, four places from ninth position which he holds currently on the new African junior tennis rankings set to be released next week.Second-ranked Said Nkurunziza won the third leg of the ITF/CAT junior tournament after beating Shaban Kabula of Tanzania in three sets 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

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Habiyambere tipped for bright future