Nigeria’s Marylove Edwards began her campaign at the Kigali Junior International Open 2, a Grade 5 clay-court tournament in Rwanda, in the second round and with victory today, having received a first-round bye.
The 6th seed opened up against Himadri Kashyap of India and succumbed to a bagel from the Indian in the first set. Edwards, however, regained composure and stung into action in the second set, raising her intensity from the very start to clinch the second set with the loss of a game and then charged all the way through the third set to register a 0-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over her 17-year-old opponent.
Edwards, who’s a student of the IMG Tennis Academy in Florida where she hones her skills, will now take on Sofiya Lebedeva of Russia with a place in the semifinals on the line. Lebedeva, who also received a first-round bye, defeated Vidhi Jani of India in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals. It will be a first-time meeting between the Russian and 14-year-old Edwards.
In the doubles event, however, Edwards’ partenership with Mali’s Coumba Niangadou came to a quick end, as the West African duo were beaten 6-2, 5-7, 10-6 by the South African pair of Kelly Hope and Faure Mikayla.
