Stringer, Borkop clinch maiden titles as curtains fall on successful 3 week ITF tour

Tristan Stringer (USA) and Sara Borkop (Denmark) were crowned the respective boys and girls singles champions in the final leg of the J5 International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament that took place at the Nairobi Club, Kenya over the past week from 7-12 February 2022.

While Stringer followed his first ever ITF title with another one in a space of two weeks, Borkop showed incredible fighting spirit as she clinched her maiden ITF title without dropping a single set throughout the whole tournament.

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In the U-18 event on the boys side, 16 year old Stringer emerged with the most successful outing over the three different clay court tournaments as he won two of the three tours and got knocked out in the semis in the only tournament he just came short.

With a cool head and a strong mentality in his game, the American dispatched Greek Chris Spyrou in straight sets (6-3, 6-4) to claim his second consecutive win that had followed his first ever ITF Tour victory just a week earlier.

The two wins serving as the perfect gift for Stringer who was just playing his first tournaments of the year after returning from a shoulder injury that kept him out of action for a while.

“I have not been playing a lot of tournaments because I had a shoulder injury. When we came here we also had a lot of challenges. I had an ingrown toe nail and we had to find someone to cut that off which was a lot of work but it definitely paid off. I am really happy with these two wins because I am more confident in my game now heading to Rwanda but I am happier that my body is still healthy and my shoulder is not hurting,” a delighted Stringer told Mozzart Sport.

Stringer poses for a picture with his title

On the girls side, Borkop showed what her game is truly made of when she bounced back from a quarter final elimination in her first outing as she picked her title with a convincing 6-2, 6-0 win over Serbia’s Petra Konjikusic in the finals.

On top of her cherry topping singles victory, the 15 year old also laid hands on a doubles title as she defeated the Japanese duo of Honori Koyama and Kaho Oyamo alongside Great Britain’s Jadesola Cole in the first tournament.

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Delighted to have overcome the mental challenge that had plagued her in the first tournament, a pumped up Borkop reveled in laying hands on her first titles in what had been a successful tour.

“I lost last week because my mental side was down. Our goal for each match afterwards was just to focus mentally which improved a lot. In the final, I think we made a good strategy from the beginning because we have seen her play a few times and I followed the strategy very well. The heat was not as bad as I expected and overall it was a great tournament for me with good refs as well. Bringing home two titles, in the doubles and singles, is amazing as these are my first ITF wins,” Borkop remarked.