Rivers State brought the heat to the centre court during one of the round robin matches between Daniel Udimekong and Adeiza Yakubu at the ongoing TPPA UTR National event in Lagos.
The Rivers State player looked to be in pole position to win the encounter after taking a hard fought 5-3 win in the first set, but his lead was questioned in the second set of the Boys’ U-14 encounter by his opponent from Lagos State.
Yakubu, a tough and never-say-die player, ensured that he tried an unprecedented comeback in the second set of the encounter, as he dragged the game to a 4-4 to force a tie break.
Despite the momentum he took into the tie break and the massive support he had from the home crowd, the Lagos State player could not pull his weight on the court, leaving his opponent with all the initiative to take a comfortable 4-1 lead.
But Yakubu, who never goes down without a fight, brought himself back into the game, saving two match points enroute to tying the game at 6-6. However, it was Udimekong who gave himself another lifeline by taking a 7-6 lead, but his opponent saved yet another match point and leveled the game at 7-7.
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One break and one serve was all the Rivers State player needed to win his second round robin match 5-3, 5-4(7) and put himself in a pole position to reach the semifinal of the keenly contested UTR-rated competition.
Udimekong fell on his knees as he could not believe what had just happened despite playing against the home crowd and his opponent.
Meanwhile, youngsters Mabubat Rasaki (Oyo), Ivana Abu (FCT), Dabira Oluwaseyi (FCT), Godwin Afaramai (Lagos), Idehen Osamuyi (Edo) and Goodluck Tersoo (FCT) have all reached the semifinals of the boys and girls U-12 category.
Round robin matches are expected to end today as the organizers of the TPPA UTR Nationals aim to ensure the grand finale takes place on Saturday, 9 August, as initially planned.
Nigeria Tennis Live will keep all our readers updated on the outcome of matches at the competition as they unfold.