Eliminated in the second round of the singles round of the International Tennis Federation( ITF) Futures Circuit in Senegal midweek, Uganda's lone ranger Duncan Mugabe kept the national flag flying high by reaching the doubles final.

Partnering Nigerian Clifford Enosoregbe, they outwitted German Richard Brooks and Anton Peskov of Russia 6-3, 6-3 to progress into the final of the $10,000 (approx. Shs19m) lucrative event that is one of the four legs of the West African circuit.

Mugabe, who missed the first leg of the circuit in Nigeria last week as he was still nursing a knee injury aggravated during the singles final of the Kenya leg three weeks ago, lost to the circuit's second seed Claudio Grassi 7-6 (4) and 6-2 in the singles.

But he kept his dream of improving his ranking alive with remarkable performances in the doubles category. They defeated a Zimbabwean pair in the first round and beat seeded fourth pairing of Lucassen and Vasilev in the quarterfinals.

"I'm happy with my performances. I want to finish off my first season as a professional strong. If I make it to the top 500, it would be a remarkable achievement," Mugabe said.