Ismael books Kenya Open third round slot

It took men’s top seed Ismael Changawa just one-and-a-half hours to elbow out Germany’s Christian Vater at the Nairobi Club on Tuesday on his way to the third round of the Britam Kenya Open Tennis Championship.

Changawa beat Vater 6-2, 6-3 in the second round matches thereby setting up an exciting showdown against Kenyan Samuel Urasa who though unseeded, has over the last few months displayed immense talent and a raging hunger for success.

This was Vater’s first defeat in the competition, as he had done well to defeat Kenya’s Fredrick Clay 6-3, 6-2 in the first round and was gunning for a place in the third round matches which will be played on Wednesday at the same venue.

Urasa recovered from a set down to beat Congolese Brazny Mahungoui 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-0 to earn a date with the accomplished Kenyan top seed.

The result on the other hand provided a huge boost for Changawa who won the 2017 Rwanda and Malawi Open tournaments, and who is gunning for his fourth title at the Kenya Open after back-to-back victories between 2014 and 2016.

After the match, Changawa admitted to feeling a little intimidated by the German prior to the match, as Vater was a showboating character who boasted a Nike endorsement and years of tennis experience.

“Before the match we told him "hakuna huruma". We are big enemies. I ended up enjoying the match especially because beating him proved much easier than I had initially thought.

“However, I feel that the court surface here wasn’t favourable for either of us. The ball wasn’t bouncing at all and it was a real nightmare. We would have had it easier at the Muthaiga courts,” said the left handed Changawa, who is a part time Hiphop artist going by the name “CMG”.

In the women’s singles, three-time Kenya Open champion Shufaa Changawa marched to the tournament’s quarter finals after beating fellow Kenyan Rose Wanjala 6-0, 6-1.

Wanjala had eased past Sylvia Kivaze in straight sets of 6-1, 6-1 in the second round on Monday, but she found the going tough against Changawa who recovered from a shoulder injury just in time for this tournament. She is an overwhelming favourite for the women’s singles title.

Uganda Rossette Musoke lost to unseeded Kenyan Cynthia Cheruto 6-1, 6-0 thereby gifting Cheruto the golden opportunity of becoming the second Kenyan to make it to the women’s singles quarterfinals.

Second seed Angela Okutoyi, who is fresh from winning Africa Junior Under-14 title in Algeria last weekend, also got herself in the quarterfinals after beating Kitty Van Heyden 6-0, 6-0 in the first round and another 6-0 6-0 defeat to Kenyan Mercy Wangui.