Wilson Igbinovia is now arguably the highest ranked male junior tennis player from Nigeria in recent years after his emphatic victory over Israel’s Itay Bity.
The Nigerian was the tournament’s number one seed and after losing the second leg in Togo, would have been more than motivated to get back to the top and he did exactly that during the match.
He defeated his opponent from Israel in a 6-2, (5)6-7, 6-4 game which all but confirmed his status as one of Nigeria and Africa’s youngest prospects at the moment.
With this result, the new rankings expected on Monday evening will push Igbinovia into the top 300 junior players in the world and easily the top 10-20 in Africa following weeks of impressive displays in Lome, Togo and Cotonou, Benin Republic.
He and Emmanuel Jebutu were, however, not too lucky in the Doubles as they succumbed to the pair of Ghanaian and Beninoise players in an enthralling finale. The Nigerian boys lost 5-7, 6-2, 10-8 to end up as runners-up in the Doubles.
In the female category, Marylove Edwards surrendered to the superiority of Yichen Zhao, the tournament’s number one seed, in the finals.
Zhao, a top 300 player, defeated the Nigerian, ranked 369 in two straight sets. She won 6-3, 6-1 to condemn Edwards to her second finals defeat in three weeks of Junior ITF tournament.
Edwards would later partner the Chinese youngster to defeat the British pair of Jadesola Cole and Flora Johnson. They won 7-5, 6-2.
The Nigerians who traveled to play J5 and J4 events across three legs in Togo and Benin Republic are expected back to the country as they prepare to participate in other competitions in the country.
Nigeria Tennis Live will also keep following up on their activities in the coming weeks as the tennis calendar gradually winds up for the year.