The four players standing in each category will do battle for a place in the final of the Zenith Bank Next Gen Masters on Friday.
In the boys category, Phillip Abayomi, the defending champion, who hasn’t dropped a set all week, will take on his friend and practice mate, Emmanuel Jebutu for a place in Saturday’s final. Jebutu had lost a group stage match to Musa Mohammed, but bounced back on Day 3 to beat Michael Ayoola in straight-sets and book his place in the semifinals.
Can he ride on that momentum? Or will Abayomi stay unbeaten and reach yet another final?
In the other semis, Musa Mohammed, 17, and last year’s beaten finalist, Godsgift Timibra will go head-to-head for a final berth. While Mohammed will be looking to keep his record intact, having not lost a match or even a set, Timibra will hope he can equal his last year’s performance by reaching the final and then go a step better. Timibra lost his final group match to Abayomi and will aim to bounce back from the defeat. Can he?
In the girls category, SNEPCo Futures Girls Under-16 champion, Omolayo Bamidele will fancy her chances of reaching a second straight final, when she takes on Jumai Mohammed in the semifinals. Bamidele has been impressive so far, having not surrendered a set and will surely be riding a wave of confidence into this match. Mohammed, meanwhile, secured an all-important victory against Toyosi Adeusi to finish second in her group and reach the last four here.
Elsewhere, in a repeat of last month’s SNEPCo Futures Girls Under-16 semifinals, Omolade Aderemi will square off against Favour Moses for a place in the final. Aderemi finished top of Group B in the round-robin stage, while Moses finished second in Group A, having lost a match. However, Moses will fancy her chances here. She’s beaten Aderemi in two of their recent matches- the 2018 CBN Girls Under-16 final and last month’s SNEPCo encounter. Can she fight her way to another victory today? Or will Aderemi get her revenge and book her final ticket?
The semifinal matches are live from the National Tennis Centre in Surulere, Lagos on Friday, 14 June, from 9:00am.