Nigeria’s Michael Osewa bounced back from an opening day defeat with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Keean Shah of Kenya to keep alive the hope of having a favourable draw in the knock out stage of the 2017 CAT/ITF African Junior Tennis Championship taking place at the Benoni Country Club, Johannesburg, South Africa. The twelfth […]
via ITF/CAT AJC: Osewa Bounces Back With Win, Abamu Qualifies — newfanzoneblog
….as U16 team departs for Benin and Togo tourneys
Emerging tennis sensation, Oyinlomo Quadre will shoulder Team Nigeria’s hope for a memorable outing at the 2015 ITF Junior Championship in Morocco, serving off Monday morning. Timipre Maxwell and Mathew Abamu (both 11) complete the team.
According to the Nigeria Tennis Federation President, Engr. Sani Ndanusa, the trio departed the Lagos airport in the early hours of Saturday aboard Air Morocco and arrived the North African nation in the evening of the same day.
Quadre, 12, is the most experienced of the trio who were invited for the tournament after their impressive performance at the ITF West and Central African Circuit in Lome, Togo, early this year.
“I’m looking forward to make Nigeria proud by doing very well in Morocco,” she said hours before her departure for the tournament which is attracting over 60 players from over 20 African Countries.
Quadre, who is the best player in West Africa following her double triumph in Togo, will face stiff competition top players from other regions.
On her part, Maxwell, who is based in Port Harcourt, has equally geared up her game as she emerged as the Most Valuable Player at the CBN Junior tournament in Lagos in May while Abamu has been identified as one of the country’s star prospect.
Meanwhile, another set of Nigerian team are scheduled to depart on Monday for the ITF/ West and Central African U16 Junior Championship slated for Benin and Togo from September 1- 20.
Angel Mcleod, Adetayo Adetunji, Martins Abamu, Sylvester Emmanuel and Sunday Emmanuel will fly Nigeria’s flag at the tournament under the watch of Coach Mohammed Ubale.
The 2015 NNPC/Chevron Tennis Clinic enters its fourth day at the National Stadium, Lagos on Thursday with some of the Nigeria junior national players showing lots of improvements ahead of their busy schedule for the country in the coming weeks.
Mathew Abamu, Michael Ayoola, Michael Osewa and Angel Mcleod -all of whom are bound to take part in international tournaments for Nigeria in Morocco and Togo between August and September – were among the players that have their playing skills sharpened under the watch of Mr. Chris Enahoro, the coordinator of the programme which is attracting about 80 players.
Enahoro expressed delight in the constant progress being made by some of the players with conviction that the future of the game in Nigeria is bright.
NTF president Engr Sani Ndanusa commended the programme which he pointed has helped in no small measure in producing some of the country’s junior players.
In some of the warm up matches played to wrap up the day’s training session which saw players mostly put through their serving skills, Abamu defeated his Morocco-bound compatriot, Mcleod 7-5 while Olumide Ayoola also beat Emmanuel Jebutu 7-4. The matches were in played in tie-breaks.
The clinic which will end on August 29 is a prelude to the tournament proper billed for 4-10th of October in Lagos.
Melissa Ifidzhen’s hope of bagging a medal on her debut outing for Nigeria ended on Tuesday as she fell to Lee Barnard of South Africa 2-6, 7-5 6-1 in the second round of the ongoing 38th ITF/CAT African Closed Junior Championship holding at the Smash Tennis Academy in Cairo, Egypt.
After a one-sided opening set which saw the seventh-seeded South African breaking the Nigerian twice in succession from the third to sixth game, Melissa got her groove back by breaking her opponent in the fifth set of the second game to level the tie but fizzled out in the final set against her more aggressive opponent.
Less than two hours later, Melissa, a former Russian U12 champion, was back in action in the doubles and the energy consumed in her single’s clash reflected on her display as her tag with Elizabeth Garos-Pam could not match the fireworks from the pair of Chiraz Bechri of Tunisia and Ines Ibbou of Algeria who won the second round tie 6-2 6-3.
Bechri and Ibbou were seeded second and had received a bye coming into the match but they were also sent packing later in the day as they stumbled to the Egyptian duo of Hana Mortagy and Sandra Samir who are seeded seventh.
Other qualifiers in the doubles are Rita Atik / Zaineb Houari of Morocco, Rouxanne Van Rensburg / Katie Poluta of South Africa and Habiba Lasheen/ Farah Abd El Wahab of Egypt.
Nigeria once again proved her superiority in West & Central African tennis by winning seven gold and 1 bronze medal to emerge the overall winners of the ITF/CAT U16 Championship which was concluded at the weekend in Togo.
Oyinlomo Quadri was the star player of the double-phased tournament as she upset three higher rated opponents en route her winning the U14 girls’ singles.
She accounted for the exit of the number one seed, Kaita Aishata of Mali 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinal before capping a glorious outing with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Carmene Kpadonou of Benin in Saturday’s final at the Stade Omnisports, Lome.
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Although Quardi could still play in the U12, she was registered for the U14 in order to garner more points which would aid her featuring in the African Junior Championship Masters billed for Morocco later in the year.
Nigeria’s great showing at the weeklong tournament which featured five countries was highlighted by the country’s winning of the boys’ and girls’ U12 where Mathew Abamu and Toyin Asogba respectively defeated Suleiman Quattara of Cote d’Ivoire and Patricia Wamba of Cameroon 6-2, 6-1 and 6-3,3-6, 6-4.
Meanwhile, Nigeria will also be seeking glory as the ITF/CAT U18 Championship which serves off in Cairo, Egypt on Monday with Russian-born Melissa Ifidzhen leading a strong Team Nigeria.
The 16-year-old former Russian U12 champion will be making her debut for Nigeria at the tournament which will have more than 20 countries in attendance.
Other members of the team are Elizabeth Garos-Pam, who arrived Cairo alongside her dad from her London base on Friday. South African-based Adetayo Adetunji, Angel Macloed and Sunday Emmanuel complete the team to be led by coach Mohammed Ubale.
Nigeria’s dominance of junior tennis in the West and Central Africa Zone continued yesterday as the country won three gold medals in the ongoing ITF/CAT U14 & U16 Championship holding at the Stade Ominsports in Lome, Togo.
Oyinlomo Quadri, who is the zone’s top rated player in the girls’ U12, justified her rating by beating Dotsie Vania of Togo 6-3, 61 in the final while Mathew Abamu edged Sadiq Noudgbessi of Benin Republic 6-3, 4-6, 7 -6 (4) in the boys’ U12 to seal Nigeria’s second gold of the day.
The icing of the cake for Nigeria, who is led by coach Abel Ubiebi, came when Quadre paired Toyin Asogba, a debutante for Nigeria at international level; to beat the combination of Cameroun’s Wamba Patricia and Dotse Vania of Cote d’Ivoire 6-2, 6-2 in the girls U12 doublesof the two-phased tournament featuring six countries namely Nigeria, Togo Benin, Mali Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroun.
Meanwhile, Melissa Ifidzhen, the Russian-born new Nigeria tennis star becomes the first player to arrive for the ITF/CAT U18 Championship holding from April 6-10 in Cairo, Egypt.
Nigeria Tennis Federation President, Engr. Sani Ndanusa confirmed the 16-year-old star- prospects arrival for the tournament which will be featuring over 80 participants from over 20 countries across Africa.
“Melissa’s dad just called me and he informed me that that he is now in Cairo alongside her daughter. This is the first time she will be coming to Africa to play and her early arrival is for her to acclimatize. I spoke with her and she is eager to make a very good outing in her first outing as a Nigerian player,” Ndanusa stated.
Nigeria have emerged the overall winners of the first phase of the 2015 ITF West and Central Africa Junior Circuit holding in Togo with 4 gold and 1 silver medals.
At the Stade Ominsport, Lome on Wednesday, Nigeria started with a setback as Martins Abamu fell to Togo’s Antione Gbadoe 6-2, 6-3 in the Boy’s 16&U category but Michael Oshewa restored the nation’s pride when he triumphed with a 6-3, 7-5 over Ehaya Isaac of Cote d’Ivoire.
Oshewa’s feat sparked off the winning spirit of the Nigerian players as Mathew Abamu, a junior sibling to Martin, bagged a resounding 6-1, 6-1 win over Sodik Nougbessi of Benin Republic while in the girls’ 16&U Adetayo Adetunji defeated No 1 seed, Joanne Celestine Abommo of Gabon 6-3,6-2. Moments after, Barakat Quadri beat Becoude Karmine of Benin 7-5, 6-4 in the girls’ 14&U final to highlight Nigeria’s dominance at the double-phase tournament which is featuring nine countries.
The final phase is scheduled to start on Thursday with no fewer than eight Nigerian players listed for action.
National junior tennis coach, Mohammed Ubale said the team is poised for a better haul of medals. He assured that some of the lapses noted in his wards play will be effectively worked on for effective performance of the players.
Nigeria, which had a rigorous five-day close camping in Lagos for the point-earning tournament, is being represented by eleven players, who are featuring in the four categories.
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