 Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 10 Dec 2012 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 10 Dec 2012 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 10 Dec 2012 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 10 Dec 2012 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 10 Dec 2012 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 10 Dec 2012 |
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| 10 Dec 2012 | |
| British and South African players dominate in Kenya |
British and South African players dominated the East Africa 18 & Under Circuit which came to an end in Mombasa, Kenya on Saturday. The three legs, all held at the Mombasa Sports Club, saw strong participation from the East African region.
The first leg saw fifth seed Briton Isaac Stoute clinch the singles title from third seed Joshua Luck (RSA) after winning a three set battle 46 62 64. South Africa came out on top in the doubles with Lloyd Harris and Bjorn Scheepbouwer overcoming Courtney Lock (ZIM) and Ismael Mzai (KEN) 76(5) 62.
Jessica Simpson (RSA) was the star of the first leg in the singles, denying local girl and favourite Nikita Dawda of the gold after a 64 61 victory. Simpson then paired up with Dawda to take on Alena Mashtakova (RUS) and Oleksandra Shkorupeyeva (UKR) in the doubles finals, taking her second title with a 63 63 win.
Doubles winner from the first leg, Harris, had a fairly straightforward route to the singles final of the second tournament and, without dropping a set, beat Ben Stride (GBR) 60 62 to secure first place on the podium. In the doubles, Lock and Mzai proved why they were number one seeds, beating Adam Noureldin (SUD) and Ghassan Alansi (YEM), who knocked out Harris and Scheepbouwer in the semifinal, 64 62.
Shkorupeyeva found the strength to take revenge on her previous doubles opponent, Simpson, beating her 75 61 in the singles final of the second leg. However, Simpson wasn’t going to give up and, changing partners, this time to play with Valentina Kulikova (RUS), defeated Dawda, her previous partner, and Mia Smith (GBR) 62 64.
After being knocked out in round three of the second leg, this obviously gave Stoute time to bring back his form from the first leg, reaching the final after Luck retired in the semifinal at 61 30. Stoute then found himself up against compatriot Ben Stride in the final who was, once again, denied gold with a 64 76(4) score line. These two Brits then teamed up for the doubles and were seeded two. While they might have thought they had a strong chance against the unseeded pair of Felipe Cunha Silva (POR) and Carlos Donat (ESP), the latter had an easy ride in the first set. Stoute and Stride tried to put up a stronger fight in the second set, but to no avail, ending the match 61 75. The Portuguese were on a winning streak in the third leg with Claudia Ciani clinching the girls’ singles title, beating Ghanean Elizabeth Kapari 61 60. After another change of partners, and meaning that Dawda, Simpson and Kulikova each won two doubles titles, the Kenyan/Russain duo teamed up to take the last title, with a match cut short after their opponents, Habiba Lasheen (EGY) and Alena Mashtakova retired at 22 due to injury.
At the closing ceremony, Paurvi Rawal, Kenya Lawn Tennis Association Chairwoman, thanked the Mombasa Sports Club and the ITF for their continued support in the junior events. She also felt that bringing together players from around the world gives them the opportunity to share experiences and improve their level of play.
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