Kenya maintained their good start at the ongoing East Africa tennis championships in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania yesterday. 

In the boys’ 14 and under event, Kenya’s Ruincliffe Ominde dispatched his Seychelles opponent Jean-Marc Carpede in straight sets of 6-2, 6-1 while compatriot Liberty Baraka fought hard in the second set to avoid a decider after downing Somali Ahmed Jaffar 6-3, 7-6(5).

Ominde’s good use of serve gave him the much-needed winners in a match that did not last more than an hour while it was a fairly tight contest for Baraka who pulled all stops to clinch the tie-break point in the second set having sailed through in the opener.

In the 14-and-under girls quarter final, Melissa Mwakha triumphed over Rwandan Rona Tuyishime in straight sets of 6-2, 6-0 in a display of dominance by the Kenyan. 

The eighth seed was flawless especially in the second set where he hardly broke sweat as he went all the way without dropping a game to her fourth-seeded challenger. 

Both girls had moments to behold particularly in between rally points but Mwakha was quicker off the blocks. 

Meanwhile, Faith Urasa saw off top seed Sharma Alisha of Seychelles in the same category 6-4, 6-3 to advance.

The 16-and-under category was equally well fought with Raymond Oduor was the standout in the boys’ category after downing Comoros opponent Hassami Roucheidi 5-7, 6-1, 10-7 while top seed Angela Okutoyi destroyed Ugandan Shanitah Namagembe 6-0, 6-0 in the girls’ corner.