David and Daniel Igbinovia lit up the courts during their quarterfinal matches at the ongoing Azimuth Shipping Lines Junior Tennis Championship in Lagos.
The twin brothers from the famous tennis family were playing by each other and they both fought bravely for semifinal slots in the boys’ U-12 category of the annual tournament.
While David was in a losing position, with his opponent serving for the match in the second set, the youngster, buoyed by the fans and his dad, Sunday, picked up momentum and a renewed belief that he could fight his way back into the tournament.
With each jeer and cheer, despite being down 6-8 in the final set, the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club trainee found some inspiration to force his opponents to make errors leading him to take the initiative and win the match.
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The court erupted into a loud cheer as father and son embraced each other after the umpire had ended the match. All his supporters immediately switched attention to court three where his brother was battling his opponent.
Less than three minutes after David’s victory, Daniel recorded another victory, making it the first time the Igbinovia brothers would be reaching the semis of a national junior tennis tournament of this magnitude.
In the girls’ U-12 event, Ghana-based Nigerian tennis youngster, Whitney Orimoloye, nearly reduced her dad to tears as she was battling for a semis spot.
Orimoloye, competing at the event for the very first time, needed just a point to finish off the game when she was serving for the match, but she could not find the winning edge.
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Eventually, her opponent could not sustain the pressure which was gradually mounting inside the court 2 of the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, and she hit the ball a bit too hard to give the youngster the ticket to the semifinal.
As things stand, Orimoloye, playing in the Azimuth Championship for the first time ever, stands a chance to also reach the final of the event, a testament of the hard work and resilience she has put in for a while now.
Nigeria Tennis Live will keep our readers posted on all the results and updates from the championship which climaxes on Saturday, 18 January, 2025.