Ethiopian thwarts Uganda
Dec 04, 2005
RONALD Semanda, Uganda’s last hope at the ITF East Africa U-18 tennis circuit, was blown off court yesterday by Ethiopian Gelawdiyos Mesfin.
By Phillip Corry
ITF East Africa U-18 circuit
Quarter-finals
G Mesfin (Eth) bt
R Semanda 6-3,6-2
Second Rd
E Mensah (Gha) bt
P Shaleen (Ken) 6-0,6-1
P Becker (SA) bt
J Ruwa (Ken) 7-5,6-3
Z Chuco (Eth) bt
R Singh (Ind) 6-1,6-1
T Hodorov (Isr) bt
M Hakizimana (Bur) 6-0,6-2
M Studeny (Czech) bt
D Rono (Ken) 6-0,6-0
Girls
Third round
S Davin (Nam) bt
T Cherono (Ken) 6-0,6-3
N Wanjiku (Ken) bt
J Namubiru 6-0,6-0
S Mohamed (Sud) bt
J Namutebi 6-3,6-4
Tuesday
Semifinals
RONALD Semanda, Uganda’s last hope at the ITF East Africa U-18 tennis circuit, was blown off court yesterday by Ethiopian Gelawdiyos Mesfin.
Semanda, was overpowered by the 6th seed in a hotly contested quarterfinal game at Lugogo that had lots of disputed line calls.
The game that the Ethiopian won 6-3, 6-2 called for the intervention of a court referee, especially in the decisive second set.
“It was a tough tussle for me on the court and the disputed calls really had an effect on my game,†Semanda said.
“This has however been an improved display because in Rwanda, I was stopped in the second round. I am looking for a semi-final or final place in the next leg in Kenya in the next one week.â€
Semanda’s defeat means he misses 20 ITF ranking points. He gets only 10 from this round.
The Kenya leg of the circuit is set for December 9-13 at the Parklands Club in Nairobi. The first leg was in Kigali a week back.
The Ugandan leg attracted 16 African countries and players from Czech Republic, Britain, Israel, Romania and India.
Ends
ITF East Africa U-18 circuit
Quarter-finals
G Mesfin (Eth) bt
R Semanda 6-3,6-2
Second Rd
E Mensah (Gha) bt
P Shaleen (Ken) 6-0,6-1
P Becker (SA) bt
J Ruwa (Ken) 7-5,6-3
Z Chuco (Eth) bt
R Singh (Ind) 6-1,6-1
T Hodorov (Isr) bt
M Hakizimana (Bur) 6-0,6-2
M Studeny (Czech) bt
D Rono (Ken) 6-0,6-0
Girls
Third round
S Davin (Nam) bt
T Cherono (Ken) 6-0,6-3
N Wanjiku (Ken) bt
J Namubiru 6-0,6-0
S Mohamed (Sud) bt
J Namutebi 6-3,6-4
Tuesday
Semifinals
RONALD Semanda, Uganda’s last hope at the ITF East Africa U-18 tennis circuit, was blown off court yesterday by Ethiopian Gelawdiyos Mesfin.
Semanda, was overpowered by the 6th seed in a hotly contested quarterfinal game at Lugogo that had lots of disputed line calls.
The game that the Ethiopian won 6-3, 6-2 called for the intervention of a court referee, especially in the decisive second set.
“It was a tough tussle for me on the court and the disputed calls really had an effect on my game,†Semanda said.
“This has however been an improved display because in Rwanda, I was stopped in the second round. I am looking for a semi-final or final place in the next leg in Kenya in the next one week.â€
Semanda’s defeat means he misses 20 ITF ranking points. He gets only 10 from this round.
The Kenya leg of the circuit is set for December 9-13 at the Parklands Club in Nairobi. The first leg was in Kigali a week back.
The Ugandan leg attracted 16 African countries and players from Czech Republic, Britain, Israel, Romania and India.
Ends