Foreigners carry the day at Kenya Open

By Erick Ochieng’

Foreign players carried the day at this year’s KCB Kenya Open Tennis championship at the Nairobi Club.

Young Duncan Mugabe and Aziza Butoyi from Uganda and Burundi proved youth can prevail over experience when they got past older opponents to be crowned champions in the men and women’s singles categories.

But their victory was hard-fought on a day tennis fans were treated to spectacular display.

Thirty-two year-old Allan Cooper came from a ten-year retirement last year to win the men’s event, but he found the going tough at the semi-finals this year.

Cooper, who easily won last year’s event, almost repeated the feat, save for 27-year-old Francis Rogoi’s determination, wit and tact that saw him tame Cooper.

Cooper Stopped

Cooper won the stages 6-0,6-0 record up to the semi-finals, where Rogoi finally brought his run to an end during what was billed ‘the final before the final’.

The men’s final was evenly contested, with finalists Mugabe and Rogoi exchanging the lead.

Mugabe won the first set 7-5 and Rogoi replied with a 7-6 (8) win in the second. But the last set was a light job as Mugabe easily won 6-2 even as rain hindered the players from producing fireworks expected of a final contest.

The women’s contest, as expected, produced little surprise until the finals where defending champion Carolyn Oduor was stretched to breaking point as she surrendered the title to Aziza Butoyi.

Oduor was not at her best and Butoyi easily won the final 6-0 and 6-3. The event was well organised, but the semi-final match pitting Cooper and Rogoi was marred by complaints of unfairness and the match umpire had to be changed before play could resume.

The Kenya Lawn Tennis Association was not spared from trouble as incessant rains rendered the clay courts unplayable in what displayed the country’s need for more hard-courts.