By OSCAR PILIPILI
Nairobi,Kenya:Thrills and spills are expected as four Kenyans line-up for semi-finals in Real Insurance Tennis Championships at Nairobi Club on sartuday.
From the upper tier of the ladies singles draw, top seed Caroline Oduor is scheduled to play youngster Stephanie Mbaya who is seeded fourth in the tournament.
Second seed Evelyn Otula will then tackle another youngster and 2011 champion Shufa Changawa in the other semi-finals fixture.
The four semi-finalists won respective quarter-finals matches held Thursday to lock out foreigners from the contest.
The most interesting aspect of the ladies matches is that they pit experience against youth.
Oduor who is aged 27 plays the 16-year-old Mbaya while Changawa, 19, will be challenging Otula who is in her mid-30s.
Among the four, Mbaya is the only one who has never won the Kenya Open.
Despite her tender age, three-time winner Oduor is being cautious as she heads into the match.
“The match will be very tough considering that Mbaya has been playing very competitive tournaments around Africa,” she said.
“I’ll play my best game and hopefully qualify for final,” Oduor said at the Nairobi Club yesterday.
Changawa’s win-loss record against Otula stands at 1-1 and the youngster is positive about their third meeting today.
“I defeated Otula to qualify for Fed Cup last month and I believe I can do a repeat performance if I play well,” she said.
Changawa observed that the murram courts at the Nairobi Club are giving her rough times.
“I train on hard courts at Mombasa Sports Club and so I sometimes four Nairobi Club facilities challenging,” she said.
Men’s singles semis will be foreigners’ affairs.
Zambian top seed Edgar Kazembe entertain fourth seed and former champion Duncan Mugabe of Uganda in other semi-final tie.
At the JD Tennis Academy along Ngong Road, the annual Wanjiku Ngaruiya Junior Championships that is sponsored by Bounty Hotel served off yesterday with 70 players in participation.
The tournament that is aimed at developing young talent continues today and finals are scheduled to take place tomorrow.
