Winners of 38th CBN Senior Tennis Open to represent Nigeria at Davis Cup

Sani Ndanusa, the President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation, has said the winners of the 38th Central Bank of Nigeria Tennis Open would represent the country in the upcoming Davis Cup in Madagascar.
Unseeded Moses Michael and Nigerian-Russian Melissa Ifidzen won the men’s and women’s singles event concluded on Saturday.
Michael, the 2015 runner-up of the competition, had since reaching the quarter-finals been creating upsets, defeating No. 3 seed, Sylvester Emmanuel, in three straight sets 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 to win the trophy.
He had earlier defeated Lawal Shehu 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-finals and Abdulmumin Babalola in the semi-final 3-0 (retired).
The match lasted for 3 hours, 30 minutes at the Centre Court of the National Stadium, Lagos, where both players displayed their prowess.
Ifidzen, No. 1 seed in the women’s category, clinched the trophy for the second consecutive time.
Ifidzen defeated Christy Agugbom, three-time winner of the competition, to take home the cash prize of N700,000.
Ifidzen said: “These are the two best tennis players we have for now and they will be representing the country at the Davis Cup in Madagascar in August.
“They have shown what it takes to be world class; we will keep close tabs on them and hopefully put them in a closed camp for preparations for the competition.
“This year’s event is very competitive as we have two different players emerging for the final unlike those days where we see the same players reaching the final on yearly basis.
“This shows that the junior players are not giving in as they also came out here to prove their worth among the senior players.”
Isaac Okoroafor, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, said it was the bank’s desire to support and promote tennis in Nigeria.
Okoroafor said: “We thank the NTF for the partnership that has been existing for 38 years and we hope to continue on the same line.
“Indeed the management of the bank has noted with satisfaction the high standard of play and professionalism exhibited by the players throughout the competition.
“This has established its place as the selection grounds of Nigeria’s representatives to international tennis tournaments like the Davis Cup and All Africa Games.”