Kenya beat Botswana to keep Davis Cup promotion hopes alive

Kenya bounced back to claim a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Botswana in the Davis Cup Africa Group IV tournament at Nairobi Club on Thursday, keeping their promotion hopes alive.

The hosts were under pressure heading into the tie after losing 2-0 to Algeria on Wednesday, but they responded strongly, with veteran Ismael Changawa setting the tone in the opening singles match.

Changawa produced a commanding performance to defeat Botswana’s Mark Tawa 6-3, 6-1, handing Kenya an early advantage. The experienced Kenyan admitted the disappointment of the previous day had motivated him to improve.

“Yesterday was a little bit disappointing, but I went back, trained more in the morning, then came back strong. At the end of the day, we got the win,” said Changawa.

The victory levelled the momentum after Botswana had arrived in Nairobi buoyed by their own opening-day success. Tawa acknowledged Kenya’s quality and praised Changawa’s performance.

“Changawa is a good player. I played him three years ago and this year was a bit better, but Kenya played really well,” he said.

However, Botswana responded in the second singles match as Ntumgamili Raguin overcame Kenya’s Kael Shah 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 in a physically demanding contest that pushed the tie to a decisive doubles match.

With promotion ambitions hanging in the balance, Kenya’s pairing of Kael Shah and Zayyan Virani delivered when it mattered most. The duo defeated Batsomi Marobela and Raguin 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to seal the tie and spark celebrations among the home crowd.

Shah described the doubles victory as a major boost for the team’s campaign.

“It’s huge. It keeps us in the battle to get promoted. If we lost today, I don’t think we’d be able to get promoted. We kept our chances alive,” he said.

Virani credited the Nairobi crowd for helping Kenya through difficult moments in the deciding set.

“The crowd brought us energy and adrenaline. In the third set, it was all about the support from the fans,” he said.

Head coach Rosemary Owino hailed the team’s response after the Algeria loss, noting that the young squad had shown maturity and resilience under pressure.

“Yesterday was tough, but they refocused and said it was a new day. Botswana came in very confident, so we had to take every small chance we got, and that’s what the team did,” said Owino.

The coach also praised the team’s depth and fighting spirit, qualities that will be crucial as Kenya prepares for its next tie against Ghana.

With one win and one loss from their opening two matches, Kenya remains firmly in contention for promotion as the tournament enters its decisive stages.