Against all odds, Nigeria, yesterday, defeated the better-rated Uzbekistan 3-1 at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club (LLTC), Onikan, to qualify for the Davis Cup World Group 11.

Daniel Adeleye was the hero as the Nigerians recovered from Saturday’s opening loss to the Uzbeks to draw level before taking an unassailable 3-1 lead by winning the doubles and clinching the fourth game through Adeleye.

The playoff started on Saturday with the men’s singles in which Canice Abua lost in two sets of 6-4, 6-3 to Uzbekistan’s Sultanov Khumoyun.

Nigeria’s number one seed, Adeleye, restored parity for the country by beating Uzbekistan’s Abdulaziz Usmonjonov 2-1 (4-6, 6-2, 6-4).

The boys gave their supporters hope of a sweet victory early in yesterday’s proceedings when the combination of Abua and Michael Emmanuel defeated Sukrab Saidov and Ilya Ignaton 6-4, 7-6 to give Nigeria a 2-1 lead.

Adeleye made sure there was no fourth game when he defeated Khumoyun 6-3, 6-4 to set the arena on fire with fans dancing and cheering the country’s march towards the elite club of global tennis.

Speaking after the competition, Adeleye told The Guardian that he never had any doubt that Nigeria would come out victorious despite Uzbekistan’s higher rating.

“I have played against tough opponents in my travels and despite the fact that these Uzbeks were better rated, I knew that once we entered the court, it would be me against him. Ratings don’t count when you are determined and well trained for an occasion.”

“I want to thank the fans for standing with us throughout the games. I want to also thank the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, the Nigeria Tennis Federation president, Victor Ochei and everybody that supported us to this victory.

This is just the beginning; with everybody’s support we will achieve higher goals,” he said.

Also speaking on the victory, Abua said the promotion has justified all the efforts “we put into this challenge.”

He added: “We knew that we will come through despite what the pundits said. They gave us a good fight, but at the end our determination saw us through. We will now prepare for the challenges ahead.”