Jetlag costs Osaji’s decisive Sapetro Futures Tennis matches
[files] Lawn Tennis. Photo/PIXABAY
Number one seed in the Girls 12, Ndidi Osaji, and her brother, Malcolm, the second seed in the Boys 12, lost decisive round-robin matches yesterday that put their qualification for semifinal places in jeopardy.
Ndidi and Malcolm had returned from a training and competition tour of America on Monday night and were given a day off to recover.
They were, however, respectively ambushed by Favour Okon-James from Akwa Ibom, who edged a 9-8 win, and Basit Adepoju from the host club, who prevailed 9-3.
Another top-rated player in the Boys U-14 class, Onyekachi Ogumjiofor from Oyo State, suffered a 6-9 upset in the hands of Gbolahan Olawale from Ondo State.
But amid all the upsets, the Amassiani brothers from Abuja, Chidubem and Chibuike, the top seeds in the Boys’ U-12 and Boys’ 10 categories respectively, posted decisive wins against their opponents.
Chidubem beat Farouq Olowoporoku 9-0 in the Boys’ U-12 class, while Chibuike defeated Tade Agunbiade by the same score in the Boys’ U-10.
According to the International Tennis Academy (ITA), organisers of the championship, all the semifinal places will be decided today with the semifinals and grande finale held tomorrow and Saturday respectively.
