Trevor Kazibwe recoverd from the lose of the opening set to win his match against Marvin Kiriwo during the third outing of the 2023 Uganda National Tennis Championship (UNTC).
Kazibwe lost the opening set 4-6 to Kiriwo but he gathered his strength to take set two and three 6-2, 6-4 respectively at the Makerere Tennis Courts on Sunday. This was one of the Men’s Group A matches.
Albeit emerging victorious after three sets, Kazibwe admits that Kiriwo gave him a hard time on the court but his strategy paid off.
“It was very tough for me,” Kazibwe said adding that; “I actually found it hard to come back into the game after losing the first set.”
Like a rude wakeup call, the loss of the first set forced Kazibwe to think fast and change strategy which he did with much success. He moved his opponent around the court more and deliberately varied his shots from crushing booming forehands and clinical volleys to perfect drop shots. This gave him a new confidence that saw him through to a well deserved victory against Kiriwo, who is not one to go down without a fight.
“I made sure I played the ball back, I had to do what I was supposed to do, that is to put the ball back to the court because I was wasting a lot of chances before. After that the points started coming and everything turned out to be working well ” Kazibwe stated adding that the win was very fulfilling because the odds were against him before the match served off.
Victory for Kazibwe means that he is one of the two perfect players in their 8-player group who is still perfect (with nine points) and he’s in the joint-lead with men’s title holder Frank Tayebwa who eased past Bob Matsiko with a 61-,6-2 triumph on the same matchday.
Another interesting showdown was between Ronald Nassawali and Arnold Jurua with the former winning a thrilling three set battle (6-1, 2-6, 6-3) that had everything in it. Both players hit brilliant ground strokes in ling rallies often needing extra wits close the points. Ronald made the most of his forehand, often taking it on the rise with incredible pace, many times getting Jurua a second late. Jurua on the other hand, known for fighting to the very end, often shocked his opponent with unbelievable returns. Varying his shot arsenal tactfully, Ronald got the edge to clinch a crucial victory over Jurua.
In the women’s group, Patience Athieno shocked Alison Comfort defeating her in two straight sets with a bagel as part of the result (6-2, 6-0). Patience simply put the ball back at Alison in every rally, forcing her to commit many unforced errors that cost her the match.
In another of the women’s group matches, Eseza Muwanguzi battled Remmie Kimanje in three sets earning her first win in this years championship posting a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.
A total of 12 matches were played on matchday three across the two divisions and three groups with every player in the championship testing action.
