Team Nigeria suffered their first loss at the ongoing Davis Cup Africa Group III Qualifier in Harare, Zimbabwe, when they faced Namibia.
Namibia, fresh from a 1-2 loss against Senegal, needed the win to keep their hopes of qualifying for the World Group II Playoffs intact after an opening day victory against Algeria, and they did that in emphatic fashion as they defeated Nigeria 3-0.
The first rubber of the day was between Nigeria’s number one player, Daniel Adeleye and Codie van Schalkwyk, which showed how much the Ekiti-born player has come of age over the past few years. The Namibian won the first et 6-2, but it was in the second set that Adeleye put up a fight.
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From being 1-4 down and facing the Namibian’s serve, the VEMP Open Champion fought back and tied the game at 4-4, giving Nigeria the much needed lifeline in the opener. Even though Namibia took the next game, the former top junior player rallied to take the lead bringing the game to 6-5.
Having failed to break Schalkwyk again, the game was headed for a tiebreak at 6-6. Namibia raced to a 5-2 lead and needed just two points to seal the game, but Adeleye had other plans. His resilience ensured raised tension on the Namibian bench as he fought back to a 6-6 score.
Despite the late fight back against his opponent, Nigeria’s Adeleye had to succumb to a 7-9 loss in the second set in a game that he will not forget in a very long time.
The second rubber started almost in similar version as Connor van Schalkwyk pegged Christopher Bulus back to quickly settle in the game and win the first set 6-3. In the second set, the Namibian was leading 2-1 having already broken his Nigerian counterpart but it was Bulus who eventually took a 3-2 lead.
The game continued into a tiebreak which Connor, like his brother Codie, won to give the Namibians a 2-0 cushion. Adeleye and Canice Abua combined for the Doubles but there was little they could do to salvage the situation as they lost 1-6, 4-6. This is the second time Nigeria will be losing to Namibia in the space of one year having first lost 0-3 to the south African country in 2024.
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Nigeria will be hoping to bounce back from today’s defeat when they take on Zimbabwe in a must win encounter on Friday as the Davis Cup Africa Group III Qualifier nears its end.
As things stand, a win for Nigeria against Zimbabwe and Senegal will automatically guarantee our promotion to World Group II Playoffs slated for 2026.
Nigeria Tennis Live will keep all our readers updated on the outcome of matches as the tournament progresses in Harare, Zimbabwe.