Kenyan duo of Ryan Randiek and Albert Njogu crushed out of the ongoing International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior circuit after disappointing defeats at the Nairobi Club. Eighth-seed Randiek bowed to Great Britain’s Luka Petrovic 6-3, 6-0 while Njogu succumbed to top-seed Eric Vanshelboim of Ukraine 7-5, 2-6 and 6-2 to end their semi-final hopes.
The two, the only Kenyans remaining in the first leg of the circuit, have vowed to come back stronger for the second leg which is due on Monday next week at the same venue.
Randiek rued the tactics he employed in tackling the Briton since they failed him in achieving the intended results. He said: “I was too defensive in this game, a tactic which did not work for me today. I need to be more offensive and aggressive in the second leg. I was keeping the ball rolling and made less attempts to fight for games. I have learnt a lot from today’s experience and I hope I shall make amends next week.”
Njogu observed that he made errors in handling volleys and short balls, his main undoing. Njogu lost the first set 7-5 before pulling a dramatic 6-2 win in the second set to level matters. However, the Ukrainian showed no mercy to the homeboy in the final set as he made light work of him in a 6-2 win. “I intend to play many matches before the second leg as a way of preparing for the second leg and rectifying the mistakes which I did,” he said.