At the first toss of coin this morning, the focus of every tennis player, enthusiast, follower in Nigeria will shift to Abuja. It is the 42nd edition of the CBN Open.
It is the return to competitive tennis action since the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak and the first national tournament of year 2020.
While many of the players will be buzzing to be back in spite of their rustiness, it is worthy to note that the stiff competition for honors has never dropped.
With this in mind, Nigeria Tennis Live takes a critical look at four players who are likely to win this competition, regardless of the opposition.
Joseph Imeh
The forner junior national starlet will be gunning for his first ever victory at the CBN Open, the only national competition he is yet to add to his trophy cabinet.
His consistency over the years means he ended the last tennis season as the number two ranked player.
For the past few years, his rivalry with Sylvester Emmanuel is close to the Shehu Lawal Abdulmumin Babalola dominance a few years ago.
Imeh has a good movement on the court, and is very quick with his returns. He stands a good chance to win the competition.
Oyinlomo Quadre
Presently the most feared tennis player in Nigeria, Quadre became the bride of the nation when she won the Nigerian Slam in 2019 to become Nigeria’s number one player.
During this period, she also rose to become the African number one junior star, and a top 150 player in the world.
She comes into the competition as the defending champion, therefore, so much is expected from her.
Even though she is believed to be the fittest and most complete female player around, she will still have to fight the right to a back-to-back win at the CBN Open, especially since she hasn’t also been playing competitively for a while now.
Sylvester Emmanuel
Arguably Nigeria’s best player in the last half a decade, the man called Major will be gunning for yet another victory at the CBN Open after an initial double with the tournament.
Aggressive on the court, assertive also, the Nigerian number one tennis star always brings life to games when he plays.
Having represented Nigeria at the Davis Cup a few times, this former Barcelona, Spain-based superstar is vastly experienced.
However, all the players are hungry for victory in the tournament and will want to give him a run for his money. The tournament is his to lose.
Sarah Adegoke
Another former Nigerian number one player makes this list even though she’s been off the radar for about two years.
Gunning for her third title at the CBN, Adegoke remains the player to beat in female category of the championship.
While other players will also dread her unforgiving forehand and her drop shots, Adegoke may have lost match fitness and is likely to struggle.
However, her experience with tournaments of this magnitude is likely to see her through the major scare of the competition.
On paper, these players will be the target of opponents, but with the game of tennis, you can never say never.