Second-seed, Sadio Doumbia, defeated fellow Frenchman Jaimee Floyd-Angele 6-4, 6-3 to win the Tombim Abuja Open on Sunday.
Doumbia had defeated third-seeded Arjun Kunhe in a nail-biting clash which ended 7-6, 7-6 in the semifinal and was wary of his unseeded countryman’s threat following his triumph in the all-French affair semifinal against Dan Added, and he made sure that he kept total focus to keep his hard-hitting compatriot at bay.
It was a remarkable week for Doumbia, who partnered Fabien Reboul to clinch the doubles title at the expense of Zimbabweans Benjamin Lock and Courney Lock with a 6-7, 6-3, 10-7 in Saturday’s dramatic final at the National Tennis Centre, National Stadium, Abuja.
Apart from the Lock brothers, Africa had an average outing at the week-long tournament which marked the first of three-phase ITF World Tennis Tour.
Benjamin was Africa’s best performer at the tournament officially known as ITF Nigeria Futures 1 as he put paid to the dreams of Nigeria’s Sylvester Emmanuel in the second round of the $25,000 tournament before he was stopped by Kadhe in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s, Musa Mohammed and Emmanuel Sunday won their respective wildcard playoffs semi-final encounters on Saturday to book their spots in the main draw of the Dayak Tennis Championship.
The main draw of the Dayak Championship holds from April 16 to 21 and it would also feature Lagos Open champion, Jack Draper, as the 17-year-old British sensation, who was 2018 Wimbledon Boys’ finalist, returns to Nigeria for the first time since his stunning triumph in Lagos last October.
Tounament Director, Ikani Agabi expressed delight at the standard on display so far in this year’s tournament adding that the participation of future stars like Draper would further boost the pedigree of ITF Futures in Nigeria.
