Sheil Kotecha, Kevin Cheruiyot storm ITF Junior Circuit semis

Kenya's Kevin Cheruiyot (left) and Sheil Kotecha during their boys doubles match against Alexander Maarten and Rich Mullar of Netherlands in the ITF East Africa Junior Circuit U18 tournament at Nairobi Club on December 8, 2016. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |

What you need to know:

  • Kotecha saw off Matthew Beecher of Great Britain 6-3, 6-1 in a boys' singles quarter-finals match at the Nairobi Club.
  • Fifth seed Cheruiyot rallied to defeat Poland's second seed Marcin Skowronski 5-7, 6-0, 7-5 in another last eight clash.
  • The home players will be seeking to win their respective semi-final matches on Friday to set up an all-Kenyan final on Saturday.

Kenya's Sheil Kotecha and Kevin Cheruiyot on Thursday advanced to the semi-finals of the third leg of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) East African Junior Circuit Under-18 tournament.

Kotecha, who is the top seed in the final leg of the international tourney, saw off Matthew Beecher of Great Britain 6-3, 6-1 in a boys' singles quarter-finals match at the Nairobi Club.

Fifth seed Cheruiyot rallied to defeat Poland's second seed Marcin Skowronski 5-7, 6-0, 7-5 in another last eight clash.

The home players will be seeking to win their respective semi-final matches on Friday to set up an all-Kenyan final on Saturday.

Kotecha, who won the first leg title, will be up against fourth seed Amir Mohammad Adabjou in the semi-finals while Kotecha faces third seed Alexander Marteen Jong of Netherlands in the other last four encounter.

Kotecha is relishing the chance of avenging last weekend's quarter-final exit as he seeks to reclaim the title.

"It has been a marathon playing week in week out. But I have to keep going because the competition is almost ending. I want to end on a high but I have still to get past some stiff opposition," Kotecha said.

EASY FOR KOTECHA

The top seed was largely untroubled in Thursday's encounter as he hit 24 aces to put his opponent to the sword in 67 minutes under the scorching sun on centre court.

Beecher was also undone by his erratic serve and Kotecha capitalised to move one match away from the final.

Cheruiyot, who advanced to his first semi-final since the competition began late last month, had to dig deep to earn his place in the last four.

After a blistering first set in which he led 5-4, the Kenyan was undone by poor serving as his opponent saved two match points to win the opening set 7-5.

Cheruiyot made no mistake in the second set as he won it in ruthless fashion with the Pole failing to win a single match to the delight of the home fans.

The third set was closely contested with the tie headed to a tie break after a 5-5 draw in the tenth game.

The Kenyan saved three match points with his opponent failing to capitalise and was dully punished as Cheruiyot held his nerve to close out the thriller that lasted 2hours and 15 minutes.

"That felt like a final and I had to dig deep to win. My fighting spirit was my greatest asset and I think I have a chance of winning this competition," an exhausted Cheruiyot said after his match.