Abubakar Yusuf produced the biggest upset of the tournament, defeating Nigeria’s top-ranked player Canice Abua 7-5, 6-1 to win the men’s singles title, while Success Ogunjobi came from a set down to beat Etoro Bassey 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 as the sixth edition of the DavNotch National Tennis Open concluded.
Yusuf’s victory ended a six-year losing streak against Abua and crowned a determined campaign in one of Nigeria’s biggest domestic tennis tournaments.
Speaking after his victory, an emotional Yusuf said he entered the final with p8 belief despite facing the country’s number one player.
«”I was 100 per cent confident because if my confidence dropped even by one per cent, I knew he would take advantage of it and beat me.”»
Reflecting on the turning point of the match, Yusuf said memories of a painful defeat to Abua motivated him to stay focused.
«”At 4-4, when I was serving, I had to concentrate more because I remembered our match last year in Benue. I was leading and still lost. This time I told myself to stay focused.”»
Yusuf said defeating Abua after years of disappointment made the title even more special.
«”He has been beating me for the past six years, but today I said it was a do-or-die affair. I capitalised on my advantages and I was able to beat him.”»
The new champion added that the victory has strengthened his ambition of representing Nigeria at the Davis Cup later this year.
«”One of my aims in this competition was to make the national team. It will be a great honour to represent Nigeria.”»
In the women’s singles final, Ogunjobi recovered brilliantly after losing the opening set to defeat Bassey and lift the title.
She described the victory as emotional, having lost to the same opponent only a week earlier.
«”I feel excited because I lost to the same person last week. I’m happy I was able to come back and win today.”»
In the doubles events, Canice Abua and Musa Mohammed won the men’s doubles title after defeating Matthew Abamu and Michael Emmanuel 7-6(0), 7-5, while Goodnews Aina and Ogunjobi claimed the women’s doubles crown with a 6-4, 7-6(1) victory over Khadijat Mohammed and Mary Udofa.
Managing Director of DavNotch Nigeria Limited, Emmanuel Ochei, applauded the quality of competition and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the development of tennis in Nigeria.
He announced a significant increase in prize money, with the men’s singles champion now receiving ₦1 million, up from ₦500,000, while the women’s champion’s prize has increased to ₦800,000.
«”The future is now. We are increasing the prize money immediately. This is a starting point, and we want to see more competitive tennis.”»
Ochei said DavNotch remains committed to the tournament as a long-term project aimed at producing world-class Nigerian players.
«”This is more than corporate social responsibility for us; it is our passion. We want to build players who can compete with the likes of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams.”»
He also commended the Nigeria Tennis Federation for successfully organising the championship and paid tribute to former federation president Dayo Akindoju for laying the foundation for the competition.
The sixth edition of the DavNotch National Tennis Open ended with thrilling matches, improved prize money and renewed optimism for the future of Nigerian tennis as players, organisers and sponsors pledged to continue raising the standard of the game.
By Arinzechi Chukwunonso
About The Author
