Mozambique win on opening day of African Cup
The inaugural Beach Tennis African Cup for the southern and eastern regions got under way at Badplaas, the Forever Resort in Mpumalanga, South Africa on Wednesday and it was Mozambique who got the first taste of victory against Uganda.
The three-team event, which will see the winner take one of Africa’s two spots at the Beach Tennis World Cup later this year, features hosts South Africa as well as Mozambique and Uganda.
The three teams took to the main beach at Badplaas for the opening ceremony, after which Mozambique and Uganda competed in the opening tie of the round-robin competition.
The women’s doubles was first, with Ubeya Bique and Ana Vasilis of Mozambique taking on the Ugandan pair of Patience Athieno and Sandra Khissa.
Uganda took an early 3-0 lead in the opening set, but Mozambique soon relaxed and managed to win four consecutive games to take the lead at 4-3. Uganda held and the match was level again. Mozambique took the initiative and managed to hold and then break to win the first set 6-4.
The second set saw a similar pattern to that of the first, with Uganda quick off the mark and leading 2-0. Mozambique again won four games in a row, before Uganda managed to hold serve, with each team holding their remaining games, with Mozambique winning the opening match 6-4 6-4 to take a 1-0 lead in the tie.
In the men’s doubles, Stelio Carlos and Jaime Siguaque (MOZ) took on Moses Bashaasha and Jonathan Mugisha (UGA).
In a similar fashion to the women’s match, Mozambique had to play catch up after trailing 1-3 before managing to steady the ship to win the first set 6-4. With Mozambique requiring one set to take an unassailable lead in the tie, Uganda fought back and levelled the match at one-set-all by winning the second set 6-3.
And so it all came down to the 10-point match tie-breaker. A shoot out for victory in Mozambique’s eyes or for Uganda to remain in the tie. Uganda, in a similar manner to all their sets, were quick out of the blocks to take a 4-1 lead, only to see Mozambique close the gap to 5-5 and then run away with the final points to win the match tie break 10-5 and the match 6-4 3-6 10-5.
With Mozambique having already secured a 2-0 lead in the tie, the nations took to the court to complete the tie in the mixed doubles. The Ugandan pair of Moses Bashaasha and Sandra Khissa were desperate not go down 3-0. However Mozambique’s Jaime Sigauque and Ubeyla Bique were full of confidence and ensured that the tie was completed 3-0 with a 6-3 7-5 victory to end the opening day’s play.
Results:
Mozambique d. Uganda 3-0
Women’s Doubles - Ubeya Bique/Ana Vasilis (MOZ) d. Patience Athieno/Sandra Khissa (UGA) 6-4 6-4
Men’s Doubles – Stelio Carlos/Jaime Siguaque (MOZ) d. Moses Bashaasha/Jonathan Mugisha (UGA) 6-4 3-6 10-5
Mixed Doubles – Jaime Sigaugue/Ubeyla Bique (MOZ) d. Moses Bashaasha/Sandra Khissa (UGA) 6-3 7-5