Top seed Juliusz Stańczyk will face Japan’s Kazuki Nakajima in the semi-finals of the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors (J60) after seeing off Swiss Alexander Groet in the boys' singles quarterfinals held at the IPRC-Kigali Ecology Tennis Court on Thursday. Stańczyk, 15, came from a set down to overcome Groet, also 15, in three-set thriller 2-6 6-1 6-3 and keep his hopes of winning the second week of the Juniors’ tournament which is exclusively for tennis players aged 18 and Under. Meanwhile, second seed Eaden-Zack Harron dominated Ariel Elisha in two sets 6-0 6-3 to set up a semi-final clash with Joshua Olivier Zapp. Harron was in Kigali during the April-May J30 tournament where he won the first week. In the girls’ singles category, third seed Liza Ritchterman of Israel reached the semi-finals after a tight 6-1 4-6 6-3 win over Tunisia’s Bahar Kilic. Ritchterman is now the only top-three seed left in the girls’ singles tournament. Second seed Shira Dvir was eliminated in straight sets 4-6 3-6 by Veronika Koutova, while top seed Jannat Chiripal exited the tournament in the second round. She will face Czech Lucie Koutova in the semifinals. Koutova advanced in the last four after eliminating Israeli Karin Ulianitsky in two sets 6-3 6-1 in the girls’ quarterfinals. ALSO READ: Rwanda’s Karenzi gets tennis scholarship in US In the boys’ doubles category, Eaden-Zack Harron and Juliusz Stańczyk handed Alexander Groet and Joshua Olivier Zapp a two-set 6-0 6-2 humbling to reach the final. They will face Italy’s Amerigo Ambrosi and Matteo Santoro, who defeated Kazuki Nakajima and Mick Rupprath 7-5 6-2 in the semi-finals. On the girls’ side, Bahar Kilic and Ofri Behr upset Jannat Chiripal and Shira Dvir 6-2 6-2 to book a spot in the doubles final. They will meet Xiang Lui and Liza Ritchterman, who booked their place in the final with a 6-1 6-4 victory over twins Lucie and Veronika Koutová.
