The 13th edition of the Central Bank Junior Tennis Championship served off at the National Stadium, Surulere yesterday, with two major upsets in the boys’ 10 category.
David Edwards, 9, the number one seed in the boys 10 and younger brother of Marylove – Nigeria’s future tennis hope – was given a rude shock by Onyekachi Ogunjiofor from Ibadan in the first round-robin match.
Ogunjiofor who is making his debut in the CBN Junior Circuit matched the top seed stroke for stroke, reaching some wide balls that defied his diminutive figure. He eventually won the match which attracted a decent crowd 12-10, 10-6.
The number two seed in the same category, Seyi Ogunsakin, from Ekiti also bit the dust in his first round-robin match when he was also surprised by Wisdom Fortune from Lagos 9-11, 10-4, 13-11.
However, both players have two more matches to fight their way back to secure a semifinal slot.
The top two seeds in the Girls 12 event, however avoided any upsets. No. 1 seed, Mary Azi from Abuja, fought back from a set down to beat Juanita Mueke from Rivers 6-10, 10-6, 10-5 while Favour Amaechi, the second seed from Rivers, recorded a straight sets,10-7, 10-7 victory over Blessing Akpan from Lagos.
The tournament is featuring singles matches in four age groups for boys and girls – boys and girls 10s, 12s, 14s and 16s.
Round-robin matches in all the age groups will continue today while the grand finale is slated for the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club on Saturday.
