Namibia’s top seed Israel Dowie and French player Artemis Anastasiadis were crowned champions of the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior J60 tournament after winning the boys’ and girls’ singles finals on Saturday at the IPRC Kigali Ecology Tennis Court. Playing on clay, 15-year-old Dowie defeated Czech Republic second seed Nicolas Moravec 6-0, 4-6, 6-4, while Anastasiadis overcame British sixth seed Daphne Lovdahl 3-6, 6-1, 6-1. In the boys’ singles final, a clash between the tournament’s top two seeds was expected to be closely contested. However, Dowie dominated the opening set, dropping just one game to race to a 6-0 lead. Moravec responded strongly in the second set, capitalising on Dowie’s errors to level the match at one set apiece. Dowie regained control in the decider, producing a series of aggressive attacks to close out the match 6-4 and claim the title. The victory earned Dowie his third consecutive ITF J60 boys’ singles title of the year. He previously triumphed in Windhoek in May before adding another title in Pretoria. “I’ve played well in my last two finals, so I knew I could do it again,” Dowie told Times Sport. The Namibian also highlighted Kigali’s high-altitude conditions as one of the toughest challenges he faced during the tournament. “The conditions here are very tough to play in because of the high altitude. I was struggling early in the week to breathe after long points, but it definitely made me a better player,” he said. ALSO READ: Rwanda Challenger director on shaping Kigali as gateway for global tennis stars In the girls’ singles final, 16-year-old Lovdahl made a strong start, putting Anastasiadis under pressure and limiting the French player to just three games as she claimed the opening set 6-3. Anastasiadis responded emphatically in the second set, chasing down Lovdahl’s shots and dictating play to level the match with a 6-1 victory. The decisive third set swung in Anastasiadis’ favour after Lovdahl suffered a minor injury to her right shoulder. Anastasiadis maintained her focus and went on to win the set 6-1, securing her first ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors J60 title. Despite Lovdahl’s injury, Anastasiadis said she remained focused and never considered the match won. “If I took care of her weak point, I would have relaxed and thought the game was mine, but I kept my spirit in the game. It was very stressful, but I’m very happy because it is my first ITF title, and it’s a J60,” she said.
