Interplast boss (3rd L) with the finalists, Aboagye Duah (R) and Peter
Annan, Tournament Coordinator
Atomic Tennis Club’s Samuel Antwi stunned Winneba-based Japheth Bagerbaseh to win the second edition of Interplast Top 16 tournament.
Antwi played magnificently in a 6-4, 6-0 victory at Accra Tennis Club on Saturday.
2015 Davis Cup Star, Japheth, had been a strong favourite to finally get his hands on the title after beating 2016 National Ranking Tour 1 champion Pascal Ziyab, but he was outplayed by Antwi.
“It was an incredible atmosphere on court and I felt emotion like I never have before,” said Antwi.
The victory makes him the first Atomic tennis player to win three trophies (2021 National Ranking Tour 1, 2021 Accra Open and Interplast Top 16).
At 4-4 first set, Antwi began to hit a barrage of winners that left Japheth looking lost for a response and won the set 6-4.
Antwi maintained his momentum in the second set and went on hitting winners as his aggression broke down the seemingly invincible Japheth defense.
Yvonne Bruce Tagoe worked her way to become the queen of clay after she beat Annette Cruickshank for the Interplast Invitational Tournament final to win her first title.
Yvonne won 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-2 in three hours and 15 minutes.
Managing Director of Interplast Ghana limited, Hayssam Fakhry said, “I am really impressed with the kind of tennis exhibited by these players but there is room for improvement. We have to be more serious if we want to take these boys far.”
He added that, “My outfit is always ready to lift the ladder for Ghana Tennis.”
President of Ghana Tennis Federation, Isaac Aboagye Duah said, “We have the Billie Jean Cup coming up in June at Lithuania and hope the Ghana Tennis Federation (GTF) technical team will use this opportunity to select the right players for the tournament.”