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Albert Njogu will not be cowed by Abdoul Shakur Kabura’s rich history against him when the two clash in the final of the ongoing Kenya International Junior Championships at Nairobi Club.
The two reached the finals after winning their semi finals duels yesterday where Njogu recovered from a set down to beat Connor Henry Van Schalkwyk of Namibian 4-6, 6-0 and 6-4 while Shakur edged out Ming-Chieh Chiu of Chinese Taipei 6-0, 7-5.
Shakur has won four out the last five meetings between the two making him a favorite in the final but Njogu believes he has what it takes to stop the Burundian. Njogu lone win against the Nairobi based Burundian came last week in the second leg where he eliminated him in the quarter finals in sets of 6-2, 6-4 and will be angling at replicating the same in the final.
Shakur won 6-2, 6-2 at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Kigali Junior Open last year and served Njogu with a similar dose in the final of the Kenya International Junior Championship the same year where he won 7-5, 6-3 in the final.
He further beat Njogu 6-4, 6-3 in quarter finals of the seventh Nairobi International Junior Championships before thumping him in the quarter finals of the ITF East Africa 18 and under Junior circuit in the same year. Njogu, who has seen the last four Junior finals he has qualified to slip through his hands counts on his recent form to end the jinx as well as upset the form book.
“It’s going to be a tough match but I believe I will carry the day. Kabura is a tough player but I am confident with my recent form, I will emerge victorious. I am not thinking about my winless form in the final. My focus goes to bettering my style of play and making less errors.”
Yesterday, Njogu admitted to be nervous during the first set of his semi finals match against the Namibian but grew in confidence in the subsequent sets.
“I had never played Schalkwyk before and I was really nervous in the first set. I made mistakes in my returns and generally I was erratic in the set. It is during the first set I realised he wasn’t strong enough and came back for the second set with more vigour and confidence.”
Schalkwyk, on the other hand, lauded Njogu’s second and third set displays. “I had a good start in the match but he turned out stronger in the second and third sets.”
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