Seun Ogunsakin defeated his friend and eternal rival, Mubarak Ganiyu, in two straight sets to reach the semis of the J30 Abuja event on Friday, 16 February, 2024.
The former African U-14 number one player, who is the tournament’s number five seed, created an upset on his way to defeating the former Nigerian number one U-16 player.
Ogunsakin won against Ganiyu, 6-1, 6-4, to set up a semifinal clash against Joseph Franklin Jimoh who bested Leo Hsu from Taipei in final set game.
Jimoh, popularly called ‘biscuit’ won the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 and will have to defeat Ogunsakin in the semifinal which will definitely attract spectators inside the tennis section of the National Stadium, Abuja.
In the star match of the day, the female number one seed, Ohunene Yakubu, overcame a spirited Khadijat Mohammed in another final set thriller.
READ ALSO: J30 Abuja: People Warned Us About Coming To ‘Unsafe’ Nigeria – Parent
Yakubu, Nigeria’s highest ranked player on the female ITF rankings, saw off the Dala 2023 winner 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 to a loud cheer from the watching spectators to set up a semifinal clash against Osaherun Osayimen after she defeated Enitan Ayinla 6-0, 6-1.
Another top player, Etoro Bassey, won the battle of the South South when she defeated Cross-River based Toluwalashe Agunbiade 6-0, 6-0 and will play in the semis against Destiny Okhinaye who defeated Abimbola Ayinla 6-1, 6-1.
Daniel Adeleye, the competition’s number one seed, was clinical during his match against Yahaya Sani Inabo in a 6-3, 6-2 and will register his place in the J30 Abuja final if he defeats Prosper Okonkwo in the second semis. Okonkwo beat Russia’s Karim Mansurov 6-2, 7-5.
The matches will serve off by 9am on Saturday inside the tennis courts of the National Stadium, as Nigerian players look to win the first leg of the event.
Nigeria Tennis Live will keep all our followers and readers up to date on the latest information from the tournament which ends on Sunday, 18 February ahead of the second leg.