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Darko upstages Bagerbaseh at GTF rankings
George Darko last Saturday defeated national top seed Jeff Bagerbaseh 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 to claim the Ghana Tennis Federation (GTF) quarterly rankings tournament at the tennis court of the Accra Sports Stadium.
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Darko survived four gruelling rounds on his way to the final but his superior fitness was his trump card in the final as his serve punished McDan Tennis Open Champion, Bagerbaseh, on his way to re-claiming the trophy donated by Mr Daniel McKorley.
The champion saw off Joshua Annan (6-3, 6-4), Bernard Armaah (6-1, 6-2), Stephen Nortey (6-2, 3-6, 6-1) and Robert Kpodo (6-7, 7-6, 6-2) before gaining the sweet revenge against Bagerbaseh, who beat him last April to win the McDan Tennis Open.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic after the match, Bagerbaseh said his lack of fitness was as a result of inactivity on the tennis court because of his education, while Darko, who reclaimed the trophy he lost in February, said he was delighted at closing the gap on Bagerbaseh in the rankings.
“He is still the top seed but I have narrowed the gap on him; the next time he slips I will be there to take advantage of the opportunity,” Darko said.
Mr Enoch Amartey, President of the GTF, entreated all Ghanaian tennis players playing outside the country to participate in the next national rankings competition, which has been slated for November this year, if they wanted to represent the nation at international competitions.
“Now that we have been admitted back into the ITF, we will use such events to select representatives for competitions. No one will be given preferential treatment; if you want to play for Ghana you must compete in national rankings events,” he stressed.
The women’s trophy was won by McDan Open ladies’ Champion, Francisca Nyarko.
