3rd March, 2014
Damilare Okunola
Nigeria have won the African Championship for Wheelchair Tennis thereby qualifying for the World Team Cup holding in Holland later this year.
This feat, P.M.NEWS Sport can confirm, was achieved by the pair of Nigeria’s highest ranked player on the International Tennis Federation, ITF circuit, Alex Adewale and Wasiu Yusuf after defeating Morocco 2-1 in the final yesterday in Nairobi, Kenya.
Former African number one player, Yusuf, battled to defeat Ayoub Ettali 6-4,3-6,7-5 in the first singles’ event of the final day, while world’s 114 ranked player, Adewale rallied to beat Boukartacha lhaj 6-2,1-6,6-1 in another entertaining affair.
The Nigerian pair lost in the doubles event to the Moroccan duo of Boukartacha lhaj and Fouad Boughnim 6-1,4-6,9-11 but had done enough to qualify the country for Holland’s World Team Cup.
National coach of the wheelchair tennis players, Frank Termena, expressed joy with the feat. The team return to Nigeria tomorrow, adding that it was a very difficult encounter against the tournament’s number one-seeded nation. “I’m glad that we did it again,” he said.
“It was not easy, but we managed to pull through because of our experience.
“We can now look forward to in Holland in May when the World Team Cup will hold,” he said.
The Nigerian contingent are expected to arrive the country tomorrow.