Rwandan tennis player Claude Ishimwe’s run at the Rwanda Open M25 ended on Thursday, Oct. 8, after he lost 6-0, 6-1 to French second seed Florent Bax in the second week of the tournament in Kigali.
The 19-year-old had reached the round of 16 after beating compatriot Etienne Niyigena 6-1, 6-4, marking a career milestone in the ITF men’s circuit. Bax, ranked 302nd in the world at the time of the match, proved too strong, winning in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals.
Bax will face India’s Dev Javia, who defeated compatriot Yash Chaurasia 6-3, 6-0 to secure his place in the last eight.
Frenchman Calvin Hemery also advanced to the quarterfinals after edging Zimbabwe’s Benjamin Lock 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(5) in a three-set match that featured two tiebreaks.
The result was a repeat of the previous week’s final, which Hemery won 6-3, 6-3. This time, Lock pushed him to three sets, but Hemery held on to continue his campaign in the second week.
Hemery will next meet Germany’s Marlon Vankan, who defeated American Noah Schachter 6-3, 6-2.
In the doubles draw, Burundi’s Allan Gatoto and Kenya’s Kael Shalin Shah were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Algeria’s Toufik Sahtal and India’s Dev Javia. Gatoto and Shah took the first set 6-3 but lost the second 7-5 before going down 10-5 in the deciding super tiebreak.
Gatoto and Shah had reached the quarterfinals after defeating Rwanda’s Ishimwe and Niyigena 6-3, 6-3 in the round of 16.
The second week of the Rwanda Open M25 is being played in Kigali from Oct. 5 to 11, bringing another field of international players to compete on the ITF men’s circuit.
