This archive report was first published on 11 September 2019.
Kenya's Davis Cup team kicked off their 2019 Africa Group III campaign with a 2-1 win over Madagascar at the Nairobi Club on Wednesday, September 11, 2019.
Kevin Cheruiyot and Ismael Changawa led the charge for Kenya, defeating Lucas Andriamasilalao and Jean-Jacques Rakotohasy of Madagascar in straight sets of 6-4, 6-3 and 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 respectively.
Madagascar managed to salvage some pride in the doubles match, with Antso Rakotonramanga and Toky Ranaivo claiming a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) result against Kenya's Ibrahim Kibet and Albert Njogu.
Cheruiyot, ranked 2087 in the world, attributed his victory to his strong serves, speed, and good eye-hand coordination, which proved too much for his 22-year-old opponent.
"I was a bit nervous because we were opening the first match plus I knew my opponent was a tough one, since he is one of the best players from Madagascar, but I'm glad I was able to get a victory from the tough match," Cheruiyot said.
Changawa, ranked 1934 in the world, faced a challenging match against Jean-Jacques Rakotohasy, but managed to recover from a 2-6 loss in the second set to claim his title in the third set.
"This was a challenging match for both my opponent and myself, but I couldn't afford to water down what my teammate Cheruiyot had done with a poor performance. I didn’t think I would win but I tried my best to get there," Changawa said.
Kenya's Davis Cup team head coach Rosemary Owino expressed her satisfaction with the team's performance, saying she had trained them to focus on the match at hand rather than the tournament as a whole.
"I’m happy with what the boys have done although I was a bit worried about Changawa, but I’m glad he picked himself up in good time to give us a win," Owino said.
The tournament, which is expected to end on Saturday, will see two nations qualify for the finals. Kenya will face Algeria on Thursday in their second group B match, while Benin will clash with Madagascar.
