Windhoek
Namibian tennis players managed against all odds to claim victory against Ghana on a thrilling opening day at the Davies Cup underway in Cairo, Egypt, yesterday.
Although Henco Serdyn lost the first match 6-2 and 6-1 against Pascal Ziyad Alome, compatriot Tuki Jacobs managed to secure his singles match 6-4 7-5 in a tightly contested clash against George Darko, who unleashed unbelievable serves, but the Namibian managed to hang on and finally prevailed as the winner.
Tuki Jacobs and Deon van Dyk played 2 hours and 30 minutes against Alome and Darko in another nail-biter.
“I would like to congratulate and applaud the spirit of the team. We had a good win and I’m very proud of the overall performance of the team as they really showed character,” said coach Johan Theron.
“It was a tough day for us, but we managed to push through. It is always good to get a win on the opening day of the tourney as it boosts confidence. We are all excited and ready for the upcoming few matches,” said an excited Jacobs.
“I slipped a game I should have easily won, but the team supported me throughout. Well done to the boys for pulling us through today but we face a hard upcoming few days ahead,” charged Serdyn
“A good first day, which was an important win. Great team unity and support. Hope to perform better from here onwards,” said Van Dyk.
The full results on day one are as follows:
Pool A
Egypt beat Mozambique 3-0
Benin beat Libya 3-0
Pool B
Tunisia defeated Algeria 3-0
Namibia saw off Ghana 2-1