Mugabe is supreme on Kenya courts
Mar 07, 2010
<br>DUNCAN Mugabe broke a 31-year jinx for Uganda as he defied a partisan home crowd to win the KCB Kenya Open with a hard fought 7-6, 6-7(8-6)6-2 victory over local hero Francis Rogoi in Nairobi yesterday.
By Phillip Corry
and Douglas Mazune
DUNCAN Mugabe broke a 31-year jinx for Uganda as he defied a partisan home crowd to win the KCB Kenya Open with a hard fought 7-6, 6-7(8-6)6-2 victory over local hero Francis Rogoi in Nairobi yesterday.
Mugabe became the first Ugandan to win the tournament since the late Stephen Kasigwa in 1979 –– 11 years before the teenage ace was born. Kasigwa was living in Kenya then.
Coming off victory in the Uganda Open in Kampala a week earlier, the 19-year-old lost the second set, his only dropped set in the two major tournaments. He eventually killed off the match with a 6-2 in the decider.
“I humbled. I didn’t expect to win here, I didn’t even know I was making history. I am grateful to a team of people who have been behind me. For me I am just the end results of their hard work,†Mugabe said.
Mugabe hailed his manager Cedric Babu who was by his side.
“When it started raining in the third set Cedric told me what I wasn’t seeing and I changed my approach and won it,†Mugabe stated. His win fastened his status as he seeks a higher status on the professional circuit.
The Ugandan ace pocketed $800(sh1.6m) for the victory that positions him as one of the best players in East Africa.
John Oduke, a Ugandan dominant name in the 1990s, who coached Mugabe since he was fours year old was overjoyed by Mugabe victory.
“I must congratulate the boy for doing what our generation failed to do. Mugabe is focused he will achieve a lot more than that. We are grooming more young talent that will be encouraged by Mugabe’s achievement,†Oduke remarked.
The Ugandan, who is ranked 731 by the International Tennis Federation dumped Zimbabwean Masimba Muchenje in the quarterfinals before eliminating his Rwandan nemesis Jean Claude Gasigwa in the semi-finals.
and Douglas Mazune
DUNCAN Mugabe broke a 31-year jinx for Uganda as he defied a partisan home crowd to win the KCB Kenya Open with a hard fought 7-6, 6-7(8-6)6-2 victory over local hero Francis Rogoi in Nairobi yesterday.
Mugabe became the first Ugandan to win the tournament since the late Stephen Kasigwa in 1979 –– 11 years before the teenage ace was born. Kasigwa was living in Kenya then.
Coming off victory in the Uganda Open in Kampala a week earlier, the 19-year-old lost the second set, his only dropped set in the two major tournaments. He eventually killed off the match with a 6-2 in the decider.
“I humbled. I didn’t expect to win here, I didn’t even know I was making history. I am grateful to a team of people who have been behind me. For me I am just the end results of their hard work,†Mugabe said.
Mugabe hailed his manager Cedric Babu who was by his side.
“When it started raining in the third set Cedric told me what I wasn’t seeing and I changed my approach and won it,†Mugabe stated. His win fastened his status as he seeks a higher status on the professional circuit.
The Ugandan ace pocketed $800(sh1.6m) for the victory that positions him as one of the best players in East Africa.
John Oduke, a Ugandan dominant name in the 1990s, who coached Mugabe since he was fours year old was overjoyed by Mugabe victory.
“I must congratulate the boy for doing what our generation failed to do. Mugabe is focused he will achieve a lot more than that. We are grooming more young talent that will be encouraged by Mugabe’s achievement,†Oduke remarked.
The Ugandan, who is ranked 731 by the International Tennis Federation dumped Zimbabwean Masimba Muchenje in the quarterfinals before eliminating his Rwandan nemesis Jean Claude Gasigwa in the semi-finals.