Players from Ogun and Ekiti States will be in fierce contests for the tickets to reach the final of the Men’s and Women’s Singles at the ongoing National Sports Festival in Abeokuta Ogun State.
Ohunene Yakubu (Ogun), one of the standout players at the championship so far, reached the semifinal of the event after defeating highly-rated Etoro Bassey (Akwa Ibom) in two straight sets of 6-4, 6-2 to set up a semifinal clash against Success Ogunjobi from Ekiti State.
Ogunjobi was clinical in her match against Goodnews Aina of team IJA, as she stormed to a two-straight sets win of 6-1, 6-3. Her match against Yakubu of Ogun State is another mouthwatering encounter to look out for.
Edo State’s Blessing Omotayo defeated Mary Udoffa, the second Akwa Ibom player left in the event, 6-3, 6-4 and will be looking to go one further when she takes on US-based Oyinlomo Quadre representing Delta State, in the semis.
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Quadre, an overwhelming favourite to win the Women’s Singles event and Delta State’s only athlete in the Singles event, defeated budding tennis sensation, Bright Emmanuel (IJA), 6-0, 6-1 in the other quarterfinal match.
Like their female counterparts, one of the Men’s Singles semifinal matches is between Ekiti and Ogun States. US-based Christopher Bulus (Ogun) will re-enact his rivalry against Daniel Adeleye when they take to the courts for their semifinal match.
Adeleye was emphatic in his quarterfinal match against Uche Oparaoji (Bayelsa), winning 6-1, 6-4 while Bulus was leading 5-0 against Chima Michael of Edo State before his opponent retired. Nigerians will be looking forward to this encounter.
The second Singles semifinal match will be between River State’s Canice Abua and David Ekpenyong representing Bayelsa State. Abua fought hard to defeat Yusuf Abubakar (FCT) 7-6, 6-4 while Ekpenyong was superb with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Lucky Danjuma (FCT).
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Meanwhile, the Doubles matches also served off on Friday, 23 May, 2025, with many of the players advancing to the next round of the competition already.
Matches are expected to serve off by 9am on Saturday, 24 May, 2025, as the tennis event of the National Sports Festival nears its end.
Nigeria Tennis Live will keep all our readers updated on the developments inside the tennis section of the MKO Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta, venue of the National Sports Festival.