Reprieve for Kenya as local girls shine at ITF World Tour
Faith Nyabera and Judith Muraa gave Kenyans some cheer in the ongoing ITF World Tennis Tour after clinching wins at Peponi School yesterday.
Their heroics follow Kenya’s disastrous start at the first leg of the championships on Monday when three players were knocked out in the qualifying round.
Nyabera and Muraa therefore gave the hosts hope of advancing further and possibly in the money bracket.
In the opening women’s singles match, Nyabera saw off Indian Gawda in a three-set battle which ended 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
The match had different dynamics with both players splitting the first two sets before Nyabera locked it out in the decider.
In the first set, Nyabera only dropped a single game against her challenger in a disciplined display as her forehand winners earned led to crucial points while the errors by Gawda played to her advantage.
The second set was different as Gawda came in guns blazing as she tried to push Nyabera off her zone of play. It worked with the Kenyan only having to steady herself and break twice with the scores at 2-2 but the Indian ran away with the set following erratic service from the Kenyan.
The deciding set was epic as both players sweat it out on court for an advantage. Gawda started strongly and punished her opponent especially at the net with tricky shots and good slices.
Meanwhile, former juniors champion Muraa came from a set down to clinch another three-set thriller.
Muraa won 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 against Manuella Maria Lisa Nyonda of Gabon. After losing the first set, Muraa rectified her mistakes in the subsequent sets and was twice forced into a tie-break but the alert Nyonda blocked her chances.
However, in the second and third sets, she was all clear especially after her opponent became erratic and showed tiredness.
