Njogu, Randiek suffer quarters set back

Albert Njogu and compatriot Ryan Randiek have been knocked out of the first leg of The International Tennis Federation East Africa Junior Circuit competition.

The two lost in their quarter final matches on Thursday at the Nairobi Sports Club.

Top seeded Ukrainian Eric Vanshshelboim outsmarted eighth seeded 16 year old Albert Njogu by two sets to one (7-5, 2-6, 6-2) in a tight court battle.

Despite the Mbagathi Secondary School student exercise of powerful forehands and exemplary quickness in attack to win the second set after losing the first one, the Ukrainian countered with a calm tactical approach in the third set to mastermind an overhaul as he mauled the Kenya to a best of two.

“I lost because of petty mistakes. I let him beat me with volleys and short balls,” Njogu told Citizen Digital.

At the same time, sixth seeded Ryan Randiek hopes for a semi final berth in the competition plummeted too when he succumbed to a two straight sets (6-3, 6-0) defeat to Briton Luka Petrovic in another quarterfinal match.

Randiek who represented Kenya in the Davies Cup admitted defeat stating that his defence tactic backfired against the Briton.

“It was tough. My opponent had good serves and he was solid in attacking. I played on the offensive, trying to keep the ball instead of putting pressure on him. However I have noted some learning points and I will work on polishing the grey areas,” Randiek told Citizen Digital.

The Briton capitalized on powerful backhands and Randiek’s poor strokes.

The two will now look forward to a strong performance in the second leg slated for Monday.The third leg will follow right after the 2nd leg.