The name of Rihards Neimanis will forever be engraved in the annals of the ITF Junior Tournament in Dakar. The 16-year-old Latvian was crowned this Saturday, among the boys, ahead of the Briton, Jesse Clarkson in two rounds.
It is very rare to see two players of the same style compete on the courts of the Olympique Club de Dakar. And the J30 boys’ singles final will say no less. Winner of the first week J60, Rihards Neimanis faced the thunderous Briton, Jesse Clarkson, finalist of this week. A serene and calm Neimanis in his game against a powerful and euphoric Clarkson on the other side of the net.
With a tight start, Jesse missed his first shots against Manon. Multiplying mistakes and misses, the Briton let his opponent slip away during the first round. Rihards will easily win by 6 games to 3. At the start of the second set, Jesse regains his momentum and even manages to lead the score. At the start of the third game, the Briton was already leading by 2 to zero. If he hadn’t seen himself as the winner of the second set very early on, Jesse would have won the second set.
But both players will go to the tie-break to finish the match. At 5-5, Jesse doubted and let the points slip in favor of Rihards. The Latvian wins the coronation and establishes a historic record. He becomes the first player in this Tournament to win the quadruple. Double champion in doubles and double winner in boys’ singles. Magnificent!
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