The Nigerian duo of Destiny Okhinaye and Aanu Ayegbusi put up some eye-catching performances in Togo, where they are currently playing an Open championship.
The week-long event which started on 22 July has six Nigerian players in action. Usman Kushimo, Gbolahan Oladipupo, Aleem Azeez, Sonia Igbinovia, Destiny Okhinaye and Anu Ayegbusi are the Nigerian players participating in the event.
Of all the Nigerian players, Ayegbusi and Okhinaye have been the most outstanding as they reached the semis of the tournament which is in its third edition.
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While Kushimo was able to reach the third round of the tournament, losing 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Davis Cup player, Francky Hoimian in a final set match, Oladipupo was unable to go past the second round of the tournament.
Azeez who seemed to be cruising, also met his waterloo in the third round of the championship, losing to the event’s number one seed, Joel Meda.
It was the ladies who turned up the most, with Okhinaye narrowly missing the ticket to reach the final despite beating the tournament’s number one seed, Eliaza Honfoga 6-3, 6-0 in the semis.
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Ayegbusi would, however, take the initiative and ensure that a Nigerian reached the finale of the event which is being played by players from neighbouring Ghana, Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and hosts Togo.
She defeated the competition’s number two seed, Tchamoussa, in a thrilling match which ended 4-6, 7-6, 6-1 in favour of the top-rated Nigerian female tennis player.
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Ayegbusi will now compete against Winner Gakpo for the ultimate prize on Saturday, 27 July, 2024, as the tournament comes to a conclusion.
The Women’s Singles winner will pocket 400,000cfa alongside a motorbike worth 650,000cfa. If both prizes are converted to the Nigerian currency, it will amount to about N2.7million.
Nigeria Tennis Live will report updates from that finale as Nigerian top female player seeks to expand her dominance to the west coast of Africa.