Tennis: RCI Mauritius-sponsored Tournament-Zenab Kanté, Brioche singles winners |09 August 2005

 Despite the defeat, Stephan Romain can take comfort that he played some very good tennis and should consider himself as one of the most prized assets around at 14 years old.

In the ladies’ final, a much fitter Zenab Kanté extended her winning run against Marie-May Isnard this year, defeating her for the third time.

The tennis courts at Roche Caïman played host to the finals as well as the earlier round matches of the first ever competition sponsored by a foreign firm and involving only local players.

Zenab Kanté, the number one seed in the absence of her twin sister Fatim, the country’s number one female player who is studying in Belgium, allowed veteran Isnard to win just four games on the way to a 2-0 (6-2 6-2) victory.

“I came out to play hard and I was much fitter than my opponent who played quite well,” 19-year-old Kanté told Sports Nation after her quite easy win.

It is to note that Kanté beat Isnard 2-0 (6-3 6-4) in the Curtain-raiser and 2-1 (1-6 6-2 6-1) in the Coral Strand Hotel Open ladies’ singles finals earlier in the season.

The men’s singles final lasted 2 hours and 30 minutes, starting under a bright sun and ending under the floodlights on centre court.

Brioche, who lost the Coral Strand Hotel tournament’s men’s singles final 0-2 (1-6 2-6) to Australian Tim Horpinitch, needed a tie-break to win the first set 7-6 but Romain levelled maters with a 6-4 score in the second set.

Romain looked like upsetting Brioche, leading 3-2 in the third and decisive set, but when he dropped three games in succession, Brioche came closer to victory and even won the set 6-4 for a 2-1 win.

“Stephan impressed me with his play today (Sunday). I tried every trick, but he was up there and returning the ball well. He had nothing to lose and battled all the way till the final points,” said 23-year-old Brioche.

Meanwhile, the men’s doubles final was won by the pair of Darryl Nourrice and Brioche who beat the young duo of Markhous Kanté and Romain 2-0 (6-2 6-4).

The mixed doubles title went to the pair of Steven Rideau-Mein and Isnard after defeating the brother and sister duo of Ronnie and Stephanie Ah-Shung 2-0 (6-2 7-5).

Ravi Naidoo, a representative of the sponsor, presented the prizes.

G. G.