By Ijeoma Okigbo
Abuja – Six Nigerians, who registered for the Tombim Abuja Open singles event, have crashed out of the tournament.
Joseph Ubon, Emmanuel Idoko, Henry Atseye and Sylvester Emmanuel, highest World ranked Nigerian player, had earlier lost in the first round of the turnament holding at the National Stadium in Abuja.
Clifford Enosoregbe and Thomas Otu, however, moved to the second round but were knocked out on Wednesday.
Enosoregbe had lost 6-2, 6-1 to Benjamin Lock of Zimbabwe while Takanyi Garanganga also of Zimbabwe defeated Otu 6-2, 6-2 to put out the host off the tournament’s singles title.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) , Babatunde Abe, a tennis coach said Nigerians needed regular competitions to be abreast with tactics of the game.
“Nigerian players do not have frequent competitions, therefore their skills are not improved as expected.
“You need to play constantly with those who are better than you to help you work on your lapses.
“So, all thanks to the organisers who have brought the game to the players doorsteps. Hopefully in subsequent tournaments the players will do well, ” he said.
NAN reports that the tournament is an International Tennis Federation (ITF) Futures event where players can garner Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) points.
The tournament, which has over 50 players jostling for the 25,000 dollars prize money, began on Monday and will end on Saturday.
