Sports Reporter
Top seed Kudzai Chapepa won the first leg of the girls Under/18 ITF Junior Circuit which ended on Friday in Maputo, Mozambique when she beat fourth seeded Kenyan Melissa Nanjala Mwakha.
Chapepa won in two straight sets after breezing through the field without dropping a set. In the final, Chapepa won 6-3 6-3 against her Kenyan opponent who trains in Harare.
Enroute to the final, Chapepa beat Vitali Tutilani 7-5 7-6(5) in the semi-final in what was her most difficult match while Mwakha best fifth seed Tamara Ermakhova 6-4 6-4 in the semi-final.
Meanwhile, Sasha Chimedza and Tadiwanashe Mauchi are the highest ranked Zimbabwean Under/18 girls in the latest ITF rankings. Chimedza earned 210.25 points to jump 84 places in the world ranking ladder to 360th in the world while Nyauchi moved 86 places to 411th place.
Tanya Midzi is the third highest ranked Zimbabwean in the world after moving 137 places up the rankings. Midzi is ranked 700 in the world 173 places above Chapepa who moved 164 places up the rankings.
The list of the top 10 highest ranked Zimbabweans on the world rankings also includes Zahara El-Zein (987), Tinotenda Chipfakacha (1305), Simphiwe Malunguza (1485), Chanelle Zhuwakini (1588), Thandiwe Nkala (1710) and Rufaro Magarira (1753).
Big gains are also expected for Chapepa and El-Zein in terms of points who are both in Mozambique on the ITF Junior circuit where the second leg begins tomorrow.
