31st August, 2010
There are strong indications that the 10th Governorâ€
The annual ITF approved F3 and F4 tennis classics is scheduled to hold from 15-31 October, 2010 at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan. Tennis Special discovered at the weekend that the secretariat of the Nigeria Tennis Federation, NTF, has been bombarded with requests from foreign players asking for invitations letters to facilitate entry visas to Nigeria from their respective countries. It was learnt that an invitation letter is one of the pre-conditions for a player to get visas from Nigerian Embassies abroad.
Secretary General of the federation, Nkana Mbora said that the foreign players have been requesting for assistance to get the necessary traveling documents that will facilitate their trip to Nigeria, adding that the federation has given out the necessary assistance to this effect.
She noted that the NTF is expecting a full house of foreign players for the tournament, which attracts a prize money of $80,000.
The federation is very glad because it shows the popularity of the only surviving international tennis tournament in Nigeria,†she said.
Meanwhile, Vice President of the federation, Yemi Owoseni told Tennis Special that all hands are on deck to ensure that this yearâ€
“We are grateful to everybody and corporate organisations that have supported us in the last ten years, We believe this yearâ€
Tennis Special recalled that Moroccan Reda El Amrani and Slovak, Zuzana Kucova defied all odds to win the F3 and F4 last year.
After winning the first leg of the ITF approved championship, Amrani, the number 1 tennis player in Morocco, went ahead to claim the Menâ€
An elated North African boy, who won the menâ€
The duo of Fruttero John Paul and Catalin-Ionut beat the pair of Komlavi Loglo and Valentin Sanon 6-1, 7-6(3) to win the menâ€