Njogu to battle Sallay in final: Playing in today’s final is a great improvement for the Kenyan

Kenya's Albert Njogu, Seed 4, during ITF East Africa 18 and Under Junior Circuit tournament 2019 at Nairobi club. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Kenya’s Albert Njogu will face off with Hungary’s Peter Sallay in today's boys’ singles final of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tours Junior Championships at Nairobi Club.

Yesterday, Njogu reached the final after dismissing another Hungarian Mihaly Deli in the semis. Sallay saw off Poland’s Jasza Szajrych in a three set thriller.

It was payback time as Njogu returned the favour to Deli, who had beaten him last year in another ITF tournament in Nairobi. One hour is all the country’s top boy needed to see off his Hungarian opponent and book his place in today’s final.

Having been eliminated in the quarters of last week’s ITF Under-18 World Junior Circuit, the Kenyan reached his first major tournament final with straight sets win.

Unlike the previous competition when his game plan was fell short, Njogu said he had worked on the grey areas that failed him and he was looking forward to a better show in the final.

“I’m sticking to my game plan because it is working perfectly and I’m getting positive results. I’m prepared for the final mentally and physically and I will give it my all because the game gives me an opportunity to chalk up my first 2019 victory,” Njogu said.

Njogu did not shy away from showing his strength to the Hungarian taking charge of the match from the onset. Not even the scorching sun could stop him from ruling the court with his super serves and strong volleys as his opponent struggled to keep up with the pace. He set one foot in the final with a 6-3 win in the first set. He maintained the momentum in the second set not leaving room for errors to seal a final berth by the same margin.

However, Njogu’s opponent Sallay was made to work harder for victory winning in the third set. The Hungarian took the first set 6-4 but was forced into the decisive third set that he won 6-0 after he dropped the second set 3-6 to Szajrych.

In the girls' contest, Germany’s Joelle Steur will clash with Taipei’s Yu Chin Tsai in the final after the girls triumphed in their respective semis matches. Steur send packing Morocco’s Salma Loudili 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 whereas Tsai beat Madagascar’s Mialy Ranaivo in straight sets of 7-5, 6-2 to set today’s final tie.

Unranked Steur seeks to secure his second straight title after winning last week’s tourney.

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