Unseeded Ukrainian triumphs
PHOTO | GIDEON MAUNDU Ben Stride from Britain returns a double hand shot to his opponent Harris Llyod George of South Africa in the boys’ singles final match of the ITF East Africa Circuit Two tennis tournament in Mombasa on December 1, 2012. Stride won 6-0. 6-2.
What you need to know:
- Kenya’s Dawda, who was top seeded in the girls singles, was knocked out in the quarter-finals when Shkorupeyeva registered an upset 6-2, 6-1 victory
- In the boys’ singles final, which took two hours and five minutes, seed number six Lloyd George Muirhead Harris of South Africa emerged as the winner when he registered a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Great Britain’s Ben Stride
- Kenya’s Nikita Nitin Dawda partnered with Mia Smith of Great Britain failed to win the doubles event when they succumbed to a 6-2, 6-4 defeat at the hands of top seeded pair Valentina Kulikova (Russia) and Jessica Simpson (South Africa) in the final match.
Ukraine’s unseeded Oleksandra Shkorupeyeva on Saturday took two and a half hours to cause another major upset, beating South Africa’s second seed Jessica Simpson to win the ITF East African Circuit Two girls’ singles crown at the Mombasa Sports Club.
Shkorupeyeva beat Simpson 7-5, 6-1 in the final match watched by a capacity crowd.
The Ukrainean showed signs of winning the title from the quarter-finals when she eliminated top seeded Nikita Nitin Dawda 6-2, 6-1.
“I’m happy to have won the title, especially beating Simpson who was my toughest opponent from the four I played against,” said Shkorupeyeva, who also upset number four Valentina Kulikova of Russia 6-4, 6-1 in the semi-finals.
In another semi-final, Simpson knocked-out unseeded Alena Mashtakova of Russia 6-2, 6-0.
Kenya’s Dawda, who was top seeded in the girls singles, was knocked out in the quarter-finals when Shkorupeyeva registered an upset 6-2, 6-1 victory.
In the boys’ singles final, which took two hours and five minutes, seed number six Lloyd George Muirhead Harris of South Africa emerged as the winner when he registered a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Great Britain’s Ben Stride.
In the semi-finals, Harris beat USA’s unseeded Keshav Vellodi 6-4, 6-2 while Stride managed to book his final place by defeating number eight Joseph Imeh Ubon 7-6, 6-0.
Kenya’s main hope, Ismael Changawa, who was seeded number four, was upsetted in the quarter-finals of the boys’ singles when eventual winner Harris beat him 6-4, 6-2.
Kenya’s Nikita Nitin Dawda partnered with Mia Smith of Great Britain failed to win the doubles event when they succumbed to a 6-2, 6-4 defeat at the hands of top seeded pair Valentina Kulikova (Russia) and Jessica Simpson (South Africa) in the final match.
Dawda and Smith booked their final place by beating a pair of Alena Mashtakova (Russia) and Oleksandra Shkorupeyeva 6-1, 1-6, 10-4.
