Teen sensation, Sueliman Ibrahim went down in straight sets to Benin’s Isaac Padio in the first leg of the ITF/CAT African Junior Circuit for Under-14 in Lome, Togo on Tuesday.

Ibrahim, who’s seeded second, had efficiently worked his way to the final in the boys’ category, but fell short 3-6, 5-7 to the Beninese and settled for silver.

Suleiman Ibrahim

The team, alongside Ibrahim moved their focus to the 2nd leg, which got underway on Tuesday, 2 April at the Stades Omnisports Eyadema, Lome.

Ibrahim yet again is proving his mettle in the 2nd leg. Having received a first-round bye, the 2nd seed produced a very solid performance to beat Ghana’s Raphael Ankrah 6-4, 6-4 and advance to the quarterfinals.

Still in the boys’ category, Ganiyu Mubarak, who went out in the first round of the 1st leg, has upped his level to reach the quarterfinals of the 2nd, doing so brilliantly. Mubarak breezed past Paterne Koudia of Ivory Coast 6-3, 6-1, before going on to thrash Madagascar’s Matio Raoily 6-1, 6-0 and seal a quarterfinal spot.

Mubarak with coach, Abdulmumin Babalola

Gabriel Inyang and John Oche, however, suffered defeats, with the former going down in the opening round to Mostafa El Din of Egypt, while Oche lost to Isaac Padio in the second round. Oche had, in the first round, registered a gritty 7-6(3), 7-5 win over Pacome Cakpo of Benin.

Elsewhere in the girls’ category, Oiza Yakubu sealed a quarter-final berth with a 6-3, 6-1 dismissal of Ravaka Ramanantoanina of Madagascar in the second round. While Oiza got a bye in the first round, Mary Udoffa and Iye Onoja didn’t. Both girls, however, ran riot in their respective first round encounters.

Udoffa scored a no-nonsense 6-1, 6-0 win over Abide Beouzi of Togo, but lost in the second round to Kenzy Ramy of Egypt. Iye Onoja, meanwhile, hit Marie Kouakou of Ivory Coast with a double bagel in the first round, and went on to defeat Ishane Dermane in the second round and seal a quarterfinal spot.