At least one Nigerian player is assured of a passage to the second round of the Datak Open which serves off on Monday, 8 May, 2017, inside the tennis section of the National Stadium, Abuja.
According to the draw sheet obtained by Naija Tennis Special, two Nigerian players – Christian Paul and Thomas Otu (who both scaled through the qualification hurdle) – will be playing against each other in the first round, which all but guarantees a second round berth for the Nigerian representatives.
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| Sylvester Emmanuel in top flight action during a recent match. He should have it easy in his doubles and singles matches. Photo: Ewaoche Ameh. |
Also, Clifford Enosoregbe and Sylvester Emmanuel will be squaring up against Mateusz Smolicki and Aron Pierce respectively, both of who made it to the Main Draws through the qualifying series.
Enosoregbe will have the opportunity of avenging Henry Atseye’s defeat to Smolicki while Spain-based Sylvester will also not find it difficult handling the American to secure a passage to the second round of the competition; a feat he could not manage in the first leg of the ITF Futures.
Of all the fixtures for the first round of the F2 involving Nigerian players, only Sylvester will be having a match, albeit in the doubles. He will be partnering tournament’s number one seed, Calvin Hemery from France in their match against Wild Card entrants Hugo Largo and Mark Verryth from Spain and Australia respectively.
Nigerians, especially the sponsors of the ITF Futures, will be hoping that at least one local player makes it to the final of the tournament and maybe win for the first time ever.
The Dayak Championship which is in its second year will end on Saturday, 13 May as the third and final Futures event – DSL Open – will also kick off in Nigeria’s federal capital.