16th October, 2012
The trio of Henry Atseye, Sani Adamu and Onyeka Mbanu are the only players carrying Nigeria’s flags in the first leg of the ongoing Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship after other local players were bundled out in the first round of the Main Draws of the International Tennis Federation, ITF approved tournament yesterday at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.
Atseye defeated compatriot Clifford Enosoregbe 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the match played after a few hours of delay due to rainfall yesterday. Adamu stopped another compatriot Umaru Balami in 7-6(3), 1-6, 7-5 game, while Mbanu scaled the hurdle of Taiwo Owolabi in straight sets of 6-2, 6-1. The second round matches will be played tomorrow.
The likes of Shehu Lawal, Abdulmumini Babalola, Kehinde Alade, Rita Obasigie, London-based Adeyinka Elisabeth Thompson, and Osariemen Airhunmwunde were not lucky as they crashed early in the tournament sponsored by FCMB Plc and Etisalat Nigeria.
More first round matches are played today. Nigeria’s Fatimah Abinu slug it out with tournament’s number one female player, Nina Bratchikova, while past winner, Slovak Kamil Capkovic play French Maxime Chazal. Samuel Omoile of Nigeria face Egyptian Karim-Mohammed Maamoun, Nigeria’s John Otu goes to war with Kento Takeuchi of Japan, while Ruan Roelofse of South Africa play Vaja Uzakov of Uzbekistan.