National champion Frank Tayebwa was Uganda’s best player at the Davis Cup (by Rakuten) Africa Group V that was held last week at Cercle de Kinshasa.
Overall, Uganda men’s national team had a dreary show having failed to win as a country, not in one day. Uganda’s only positive outcome was Tayebwa’s win over Lesotho’s Neo Makhakhe in straight sets (6-4, 6-2) in the men’s singles in the event opener. However, that was the end of the winning run for Uganda for they lost the next two matches (singles and doubles) and lost the day 1-2 as a country. 3-0 losses against Madagascar and Mauritius in the following days capped an outing to forget for the side.
Tayebwa, who is highly rated on the local scene is back home with his head high and won’t let Kinshasa results drag him down because he has picked positives from the showpiece.
“It was an amazing week at the Davis Cup group V in Kinshasa. I met some old friends and made new ones. A great learning experience on and off the court it has been,” Tayebwa noted adding that; “to my teammates Trevor Kazibwe, Troy Zziwa Adrian and Paul Ssekandi, thank you for giving it all your best while in the battle field (court) and to our dear coach legendary John Oduke thank you so much for the encouragement and advise on and off the court, we really appreciate.”
The Kinshasa do happened just days after Tayebwa hoisted the Uganda National Tennis Championship in Kampala. His team mates Kazibwe and Zziwa were in action in the semis of the same championship but Tayebwa says that the preparations they got from the championship and other drills weren’t enough.
“I think we needed better preparation and more match practice, that would have put us in good shape for the Davis Cup. Our preparation was not the best but we hope for the best for the future,” Tayebwa added.
Tayebwa is however grateful to Uganda Tennis Association for making the trip possible, as well as the supporters back home who were keenly following the matches. He hopes for better results in the next national team engagement.
For now, Tayebwa will keep training to keep in shape for the next local and national team engagements.
