The men’s top seed at the ongoing FHA Tennis Invitational Masters, Canice Abua, had to move up to his second gear to overcome hard-fighting Yusuf Abubakar in his first-round robin match of the competition featuring the country’s top eight stars.

Abua breezed through the first set 6-1, but got a stiffer challenge from Abubakar, who clinched the second 6-3. The 10-point match tie-break decider was a seesaw affair up to 9-9 before Abua’s match experience helped him to win the next two points to take the match.

Second seed and lead of the White Group, Daniel Adeleye, also went three sets against Mathew Abamu but came through 6-2, 1-6, 10-5.
The story was different for Ikechukwu Iloputa, the third seed, who recorded an emphatic 6-1. 6-3 win over Yahaya Sani -Inabo.

In the ladies’ matches, top seed, Blessing Omotayo defeated Mary Udofa 6-2, 6-2; Bright Emmanuel Essien beat Omolayo Bamidele 6-3, 6-2, while Etoro Bassey won a long drawn-out match against Patience Onebamhoin 6-2, 2-6, 10-6.

The matches were preceded by a brief opening ceremony led by the chairman of Dennis Hotel Group, Euriel Chukwudum, and others elders of the club.