Majoriity of the top seeds at the ongoing VEMP National Open Championship safely made it to the second round of the competition, Nigeria Tennis Live reports.
The Day 2 of the national competition saw some of the top players on the Nigerian tennis circuit slug it out against their opponents for a spot in the second round and they did not disappoint.
Uche Oparaoji, a former Nigerian number one player and past winner of the competition, wasted no time in seeing off Olamilekan Moses in a game that ended 6-1, 6-0 just as Daniel Adeleye got the better of Lagos-based Basit Ajao, winning 6-1, 6-4.
Ayomiposi Agboola, one of the Lucky Losers in the Main Draw could not get past Endurance Ehiagumusoe and had to retire in the second set as the match ended 6-1, 3-1 (rtd) while Oluwatobi the second lucky loser who replaced Thomas Otu, fought hard against Paul Egena but could not find a win.
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Agboola, from the Mambilla Barracks, Abuja, had taken the first set 6-3 but somehow lost to the superior firepower of his opponent in the second set, and lost 4-6. The final set would later end 6-3 in favour of Egena popularly called Paper Boy.
Michael Chima made little his battle against Stephen James, winning 6-3, 6-3 while Franklin Jimoh and Isaac Danjuma went toe-to-toe in their first round match at the VEMP Open event. Jimoh won the first set 6-1 but Danjuma fought back with a 6-2 victory of his own.
Jimoh, fondly called Biscuit rallied back in the final set to end the game with a brilliant 6-1 win and land in the second round where he will be facing hard hitting Adeleye.
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The match of the day was arguably the one between number four seed, Ikechukwu Iloputa and Godsgift Timibra who reached the first round through the qualifiers.
Iloputa fought brilliantly to win the first set 7-6(9) against the relentless Timibra, but the Port-Harcourt based player did not yield as he took the second set 6-2 to tie the game. But Iloputa, known for his ferocious forehand came back stronger in the final set, and won 6-2.
Michael Osewa and Abdulsalam Mohammed played a 6-2, 6-2 game which ended in favour of Mohammed while Ezekiel Azi got the better of Ibrahim Suleiman in their first round match which ended in straight sets of 7-5, 6-2.
In the Women’s event, Blessing Anuna dug deep into her wealth of experience to defeat relentless youngster Salvation Alex in a game that lasted two days.
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Anuna had battled to take a 7-6(4) win in the first set but was pegged back by the unyielding Alex with a 6-3 win in the second set. It was Anuna who would have the last laugh, as she strolled into the second round with a 6-1 win in the final set.
Stella Udokwelu defeated a seeded player, Patience Onebamhoin 6-2, 6-4 in an entertaining match to join other Women in the second round of the VEMP Open championship.
The second round matches will serve off by 9am on Wednesday, 9 July, 2025, as players will be hoping to reach the business end of the annual competition.
Nigeria Tennis Live will keep all our readers updated on activities surrounding the competition as the event continues inside the tennis section of the National Stadium, Abuja.