8th June, 2010
Winners of the Men and Womenâ€
Sunday Emmanuel won the Menâ€
Fatima Abinu, the defending champion of the Womenâ€
Emmanuel, the highest ranked Nigerian player on the ATP world ranking on 1230 told Tennis Special that he looked back at the CBN Open this year and can beat his chest that he deserved the crown because the road was very tough to the final.
Emmanuel, the current No.1 player in Nigeria, after receiving the trophy and the N600,000 prize money from the President of Nigeria Tennis Federation, NTF, said “itâ€
“I feel happy winning the tournament this year. I deserved the crown because I worked for it. The loss to Abdulmumini Babalola last year was quite unfortunate. I worked very hard to see that I improved on my game and the result is the trophy,†he said.
An elated Abinu told reporters that she would dedicate the Womenâ€
Abinu, who won the trophy back to back said: “Iâ€
Apart from the cash prizes, the apex bank, which has been sponsoring the tourney in the last 32 years, feted the two winners to a treat at the four-star Best Weston Hotel, Bar Beach, Lagos. The hotel is reputed to have the first rooftop tennis court in the country.
Tennis Special gathered that Emmanuel and Abinu would be the first players to play on the court.