Tennis News of Wednesday, 3 August 2005

Source: GNA

Adjei-Darko maintains momentum in Senegal

Accra, Aug 3, GNA - Henry Adjei-Darko, Ghana's number one seed cruised into the quarter finals of the ITF Futures Tournament currently underway in Dakar with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Amabeus Fulford of England on Wednesday.

The Ghana number one seed who defied a very partisan home crowd in his opening round encounter before brushing aside home favourite, Yusif Berpae, was in his element right from the start of the second round encounter as he did not give the Briton a chance in the first set. Adjei-Darko's serve and volley game made the difference as the Briton struggled in vain especially in the first set to find an antidote to the 'laser quick' serves of the Ghanaian.

Everything went well as planned for the Ghanaian as the tournament's number one seed strolled through the first set under just 20 minutes to win 6-0.

The second set was not as easy as the first as the Briton lifted his game and held onto his serve forcing the game to serve till the sixth game.

Adjei-Darko's pressure on the Briton's serve finally paid off when he broke twice in the seventh and ninth games to win the second set 6-3. The Ghanaian would next meet a Slovakian to see who makes it to the quarterfinals.

The Futures tournament comes at a crucial time when the Ghanaian needs to gather enough points to move up in the world rankings to enable him rub shoulders with the best players in the world in order to gather the needed court craftsmanship.

Adjei-Darko who is currently ranked 424 by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in an interview with the GNA Sports was full of confidence of his chances of progressing far in the tournament.