Benjamin Palm receiving his trophy
Benjamin Palm beats Benjamin Fumi with a scintillating display of tennis to win the 2018 National Ranking Tour 1 played at the tennis courts of the Accra Sports Stadium.
Palm won the event 4-6,6-4,6-3 to repeat his triumph over Emmanuel Plange in 2017 Tour 6. Palm is the fourth player to win the title two consecutive times after George Darko won in it twice in 2015 (Tour 1 and 2), Bernard Armaah Ashitey in 2016 (Tour 5 and 6) and Wisdom Na-Adjrago in 2017 (Tour 2 and 3).
"I am proud to have my hands on the trophy again and my goal is to give everything I have to be the best I can," said Palm after lifting the trophy.
Akosombo-based Fumi made a strong start but struggled physically as the game entered third set.
Fumi broke Palm to lead 2-1 and maintained his momentum to win the first set 6-4. In the second set Palm also had an early break and continued to exert pressure, setting up two set points with a forehand winner and won 6-4.In the final set, Palm looked stronger and was more aggressive, breaking Fumi twice to win the set 6-3.
After the match, Fumi said: "Congratulations to Palm. He deserves the win. He was more courageous player in the decisive moment and he deserves this title."
He continued: We both felt the demand of this match,but Palm came out on top, he was the better player and tougher mentally".
