Mr Godwin Kienka, director of the International Tennis Academy (ITA), has reliably informed Naija Tennis Special that this year’s Ikoyi Tennis Masters has been shifted to January 2016.
Speaking with our correspondent on Friday, 11 December, 2016, the former ITF umpire informed that the organisers decided to change the date because of the change in time of this year Governor’s Cup which will end on 19 December.
While assuring that the tournament – a competition among Nigeria’s finest male and female tennis players, he said: “the tournament will definitely hold but not this year.
“We have the Junior Masters which will hold simultaneously with the Governor’s Cup so we cannot hold the Masters at Christmas.
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| Sylvester Emmanuel returning a serve during a junior tournament in Abuja in 2014. |
“We have decided to shift it to January and I can assure you that it will definitely hold.”
Meanwhile, winner of last year’s inaugural edition, Sylvester Emmanuel was the cynosure of all eyes on the first day of the ongoing Governor’s Cup when he upset an American American Anderson Reed, ranked number 1488 in the world in one of the matches played on Lord Rumen’s Centre Court in two straight sets of 7-6(3), 6-3.
Tennis enthusiasts will be hoping that he will defend his title when the year-ending tournament eventually holds as he was also one of Nigeria’s top players in 2015.