BY ROMULUS HUTA
THE national tennis men’s team went down to Tahiti 2-0 on Monday’s
semi-final of the Oceania Tennis Nations Cup in Fiji.
After a comfortable 3-0 win over Kiribati in the quarterfinal over Kiribati on Sunday, the boys could not contain the strong Tahitians in the first two singles.
National tennis number one Benjamin Junior went up against Heve Kelley in the first singles tie and lost 6-1, 6-0.
In the second singles tie, Graham Mani played Angelo Yerson and also lost in a three-set contest by 6-1 1-6 2-6.
The doubles tie of the encounter could not be played as Tahiti already sealed the match by the 2-0 lead.
Vanuatu won the other men’s semi-final against Cook Islands. They will meet Tahiti in the men’s grand final today.
Solomon Islands will play Cook Islands in the play-off for third and fourth this morning.
Speaking to SunSPORTS after the semi-final, Benjamin said the match against Tahiti was quite tough.
“We gave a run against the Tahitians but fell short.
“I think overall, it’s a good experience and we’re pleased to come into the semis. We had a tough pool but we managed to pull through.”
In the women’s category, Solomon Islands could not get the past the quarter-final and had to settle for the sixth position.
The Nations Cup will come to a close this afternoon with the event’s closing ceremony and the awards presentation.
Solomon Islands is being represented at the competition with six netters. They are Benjamin, Mani, Popai Leong, Doreen Ningalo, Prudence Bird and Zorika Morgan.
