Adjei-Darko in Futures final

Accra, Aug 5, GNA - Ghana's number one tennis seed, Henry Adjei-Darko maintained his number one seed billing at the on-going ITF Futures Tournament in Senegal to beat experienced Ivorian, Claude N'Doran 6-4, 6-3 in the semi-finals to set a finals date with an unnamed opponent.

The semi final encounter, which lived up to its billing, saw the two players with two contrasting playing styles, giving off their best to pick the single ticket for the finals scheduled for Saturday. N'Doran who in the past ranked among the first 200 players in the world saw his ranking points plummet after his career was blithered by a serious shoulder injury that kept him out of the court for years.

Though the game itself was very balanced, the defining factor between the two players was the youthful exuberance of the Ghanaian, eight years junior to the Ivorian, as he covered every space of the court to return the precise drop shots of his left handed opponent.

Adjei-Darko, who was determined not to be the second Ghanaian victim of N"Doran, after the Ivorian had defeated Ghana's number two seed, Guther Darkey in the quarter-finals, was up to all the tricks of his experienced counterpart to get the single break he wanted in the ninth game and held out to win 6-4.

The searing Dakar heat took its toll on the two players as the second set wore on, forcing the tempo of the game to reduce considerably as compared to the first set.

Adjei-Darko took advantage of the situation and broke the Ivorian's service twice in the second set for a much more comfortable 6-3 second set victory.

The Ghanaian is awaiting the winner of the other semi finals encounter, which is yet to kick off.

On his way to the semi-finals, Adjei-Darko who is yet to drop a set throughout week-long tourney disposed of an unnamed Slovenian opponent in two straight sets in the quarterfinals.