Namibia stun hosts Kenya in Davis Cup tie

Hosts Kenya Thursday succumbed to a 2-1 loss to Namibia on day four of the ongoing Davis Cup Euro/Africa Zone Group III Division at Nairobi Club.

The result means Kenya must avoid defeat in their final match against third seeds Algeria on Friday in their final Pool B match to secure their place in the semi-finals.

Namibia finished top of the pool after four wins out of four. Kenya got off to a flying start as second seed Sheil Kotecha dug deep to edge out Jean Erasmus 7-5. 6-3 in the opening rubber.

Kenya’s top seed Ismail Changawa took to court next against Jacobs Tukhula and was felled 6-7 (6) 3-6 in a tie that lasted 1hr 39 minutes. It was Changawa’s first loss of the competition, setting up a nail-biting decider in the doubles contest.

Kenya captain Rosemary Owino opted to pair Changawa and Ibrahim Kibet instead of the latter’s brother Kevin Cheruiyot.

The Southern Africans elected to pair up their top two players Tukhula and Erasmus and were rewarded with a breath-taking three set contest win of 7-5, 6-7(8), 7-5 in the 2hr 29-minute to hand Kenya their first defeat of the competition.

Owino was pleased with his charges fighting spirit despite the loss and is confident they can learn from the setback.

“I think we got some serious competition after cruising in our first two games and we know the road ahead will not be easy as the tourney enters its business end,” Owino said.

In the other pool match, Mozambique beat Algeria 2-1 for their first win of the competition. In pool A, Benin and Algeria sealed their places in the semi-finals after wins over Rwanda and Cameroon respectively.

The two will meet on Friday to decide who wins the pool.