Kotecha advances, Randiek falters at Master tourney

Kenyan players at the Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) Under -14 Master competition on Friday recorded mixed results. While Sneha Kotecha won her final pool B match to top the pool, Ryan Randiek crashed out after he lost his final pool ‘A’ match at the Nairobi Public Service Club.

Kotecha, who had already qualified for the semis with one to match to spare, beat South Africa’s Makalya Loubser from South Africa 1-6, 7-6(3), 6-1 to finish with maximum points in her pool.

Ryan on the other hand fell 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3 to Christopher Fok Kow of Mauritius in the boys’ draw.

Sneha had previously beaten Nigeria’s Barakat Quadre and Delien Klenhansv of South Africa in her first two matches. The youngster is confident of going all the way but expects tougher opponents in the semi-final.

“I have grown with each match and my confidence is also high. I will have to step it up because the semi-finals will be much harder but I am enjoying my game and I believe I can take on anyone,” she told Saturday Nation Sport.

The home player had to once again come from behind to claim victory in the three set thriller. Loubser underlined her intentions of winning the match by racing to a 4-0 lead in the opening set, as Sneha struggled to find her feet.

By the time Sneha had settled, the South African was 5-1 up and went on to see out the first set with a brilliant backhand. The second set was closely contested with both players displaying excellent serves.

A tie break was needed, with the set tied at 6-6 and Kotecha would surge ahead after her opponent double faulted, levelling the tie.

Loubser appeared tired in the third and final set and Sneha capitalised, stretching her with her powerful serve to claim victory after 85 minutes. The South African side, who is ranked seventh in the continent, finished second in the pool with six points.

Sneha will on Saturday take on Pool A runner up Lara Van Der Merwe of South Africa, while Loubser will be up against top seed Aisha Niyonkuru of Burundi in the semi-finals.

It was heartbreak for Ryan as he failed to secure the much needed win that would have taken him to the semis. He recovered from losing the opening set to level in the second set but was undone by too many errors in the final set and his opponent duly capitalised.

Ryan will play in the position 5-8 classification matches.