Femi Adeyemi has emerged as the new number one tennis player at the Lagos Country Club, Ikeja after an outstanding performance at the Top 16 final over the weekend.
The final match between Adeyemi and Bimbo Okubena kept the spectators inside the tennis section of the Lagos Country Club on the edge of their seats as the players went toe-to-toe in trying to outplay one another.
But it was Adeyemi who earned the rights to be crowned the winner and return as the new number one tennis player at Nigeria’s premier family tennis club.
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Okubena started the match on a back foot as his opponent took an early lead but he remained astute and fought his way back into the game with some beautiful and unstoppable forehand shots.
His volleys and drop shots ensured that Adeyemi scampered for the ball a number of times, as members of the tennis section cheered on in excitement but this did not last for long as the now number one player held his own against his more experienced opponent, thus the first set ended 7-5.
The second set started in a more interesting fashion as Okubena took a 4-1 lead with spectators already getting prepared for a final set battle between the two vibrant and relentless players, but Adeyemi had other plans.
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He carefully continued guiding the balls back on the court and maintained an interesting composure while his opponents made some unforced errors.
Adeyemi capped a fine evening by winning five consecutive games to win the second set and the championship to a rowdy round of applause by the members.
Both finalists embraced each other for about ten to fifteen seconds after the match, a show of respect and admiration for one another. Adeyemi won N250,000 for winning the tournament while Okubena was gifted N100,000 for his efforts.
In the Mixed Doubles final, the pair of Nimota Omope and Deji Osikoya were quite astonishing in their match against Lola Aluko and Akinyemi Osiyemi.
The match which was decided on Court 4 of the tennis section of the Lagos Country Club was a sight to behold as both set of players tried to outwit one another.
At the end of the day, it was the Omope/Osikoya pair that won the title and take home the winner’s prize of N100,000 while the runners-up got N50,000 for their efforts.
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Ojeikere Aikhoje, the representative of Republicon, sponsors of the competition, was excited about the matches that ended the competition, as he hailed the players for their resilience.
According to him, the company has been supporting the tennis section of the Lagos Country Club to host the tournament for three consecutive years and this, he added, will continue.
“To all the winners, congratulations. To all the participants, I say weldone for a great job and for all your efforts this week.
“Supporting this tournament is one of our CSR activities as an organization and we believe that we can do this for as long as possible,” Mr. Aikhoje stated.