Two Namibian players were eliminated in the first round of the ITF Futures Tennis tournament in Windhoek yesterday.
Henco Serdyn lost 6-2, 6-3 to the top-seeded Matteo Volante of Italy, while Johan Theron lost 6-3, 6-4 to Danila Arsenov of Russia. Volante, who is ranked 501st in the world, was too strong for Serdyn and easily won their encounter.Theron put up a better performance against Arsenov before eventually going down in straight sets.Arsenov, who reached the final of another Futures tournament in Cape Town last week, adapted well to the hard courts of Windhoek and wore Theron down with strong groundstrokes.Namibia’s only remaining player in the singles competition, Jurgens Strydom, takes on Henrik Soderberg of Sweden this morning.In other results yesterday, Alexei Filenkov of Russia beat Damian Hume of South Africa 7-5, 6-3, while Heinrich Heyl of South Africa beat Ross Connelly of England, who retired after injuring his arm.A qualifier, James Feaver of England, beat a lucky loser, Tristan Farron-Mahon of Ireland, while another lucky loser, Saar Steele of Israel, beat Damiano Di Ienno of Italy.In another first-round match, Richard Ruckelhausen of Austria beat Harrrison Keyser of Australia.In a doubles match yesterday, Namibia’s Jonathan Edmunds and Rashid Muhamedrahimov lost 6-1, 6-1 to Damiano Di Ienno and James Feaver, while Jason Wolfsohn of South Africa and Candy Idoko of Nigeria beat the second seeds, Alexei Filenkov and Danila Arsenov of Russia, 7-5, 6-3.Volante, who is ranked 501st in the world, was too strong for Serdyn and easily won their encounter.Theron put up a better performance against Arsenov before eventually going down in straight sets.Arsenov, who reached the final of another Futures tournament in Cape Town last week, adapted well to the hard courts of Windhoek and wore Theron down with strong groundstrokes.Namibia’s only remaining player in the singles competition, Jurgens Strydom, takes on Henrik Soderberg of Sweden this morning.In other results yesterday, Alexei Filenkov of Russia beat Damian Hume of South Africa 7-5, 6-3, while Heinrich Heyl of South Africa beat Ross Connelly of England, who retired after injuring his arm.A qualifier, James Feaver of England, beat a lucky loser, Tristan Farron-Mahon of Ireland, while another lucky loser, Saar Steele of Israel, beat Damiano Di Ienno of Italy.In another first-round match, Richard Ruckelhausen of Austria beat Harrrison Keyser of Australia.In a doubles match yesterday, Namibia’s Jonathan Edmunds and Rashid Muhamedrahimov lost 6-1, 6-1 to Damiano Di Ienno and James Feaver, while Jason Wolfsohn of South Africa and Candy Idoko of Nigeria beat the second seeds, Alexei Filenkov and Danila Arsenov of Russia, 7-5, 6-3.
