Tennis Professionals of Ghana (TPG) No.1 Johnson Acquah saw off Reginald Okantey in two dramatic sets to win the maiden edition of Kaiser Tennis Showdown.

This is Johnson's third title in the year 2020 after winning the National Tour 1 in January and Baby-Jet & MANCWA Top 16 invitational Tourney also in August.

Johnson won 7-6(4), 6-2 in an hour and 10 minutes at the Open tennis court, Sakumono on Sunday.

After 6-6 first set, Johnson made the sharper start in the tie break, breaking Okantey's serve in twice to win the set 7-6(4).

After the tentative start, Okantey had begun to move forward in the second set, only for Acquah to keep finding a way past him and won the set 6-1.

Okantey had been hoping to win his first title of the year. Speaking after the match, Okantey said it was "always going to be tough facing Johnson. I think we both walked away from it knowing more about our games and about each other."

Johnson after the game also said, "I'm honoured to be standing here as a champion for the third time in a year."

General Manager of Kaiser West Africa Nikita Loginov, who is an ardent follower of tennis said, "We organized this tournament to improve the livelihood of the players. Covid-19 has really affected the players that’s why we at Kaiser put together this tournament."

President of Ghana Tennis Federation (GTF) Isaac Aboagye Duah praised Kaiser for such an initiative.

Winner Johnson Acquah walked away with One thousand dollars and runner-up; Reginald Okantey took home five hundred dollars.

The Kaiser Tennis showdown is a charity event aimed at giving due recognition to lesser-celebrated sports in Ghana like tennis.

This CSR initiative stems from the inspiration to support the livelihood of tennis players in Ghana who are not well celebrated and compensated in this part of the world.

The Covid-19 pandemic has adversely affected their source of income. It’s the reason organisers created tennis gathering for players to show off their skills and experience the greatness of the game while still observing all Covid-19 precautions and protocols to ensure the safety of everyone gracing the event.

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