First round action in the women’s singles category of the CBN Senior Open saw Aanu Aiyegbusi, Omotayo Osewa, and Ronke Akingbade record very comfortable wins to advance to the second round.
Aanu Aiyegbusi, a runner-up in 2010, got off to the best possible start, as she whitewashed Joy Sunday 6-0, 6-0 to reach the second round, where she will face the unseeded Mary Tenu-Michael, who defeated Oluchi Ozurumba 6-4, 6-4.
38-year-old Omotayo Osewa, who won the title in 2001, breezed past Folashade Ogunshola 6-1, 6-0 to set up a potential second round meeting with top seed, Blessing Samuel.
Elsewhere, 2013 champion, Ronke Akingbade surrendered only 3 games in a 6-1, 6-2 routing of Temitope Fashanu. Akingbade, seeded 5th, will take on Omolayo Bamidele, who bounced back from an error-strewn first set to defeat wildcard, Christy Mbadiwe 6-7, 6-1, 6-2. Bamidele clinched the girls title at the Zenith Bank Next Gen Masters earlier this month, but may have her work cut for her against Akingbade in the second round.
Youngsters, Jumai Mohammed and Toyosi Adeusi, both of whom came in via the qualifying rounds squared off for a place in the second round, but it was Mohammed who was better on the day as she ran out a 6-4, 6-3 victor.
Mohammed next takes on 6th seed, Aare Bunmi who defeated Ngozi Dirisu 6-7, 6-2, 6-3. Wildcard, Favour Moses beat Blessing Omotayo 6-3, 6-4, while Osariemen Airhunwhunde eased past Ramota Odeyemi 6-2, 6-3.
3rd seed, Patience Obebamhoin defeated Stella Udokwelu 6-2, 6-3, while Blessing Anuna registered a 6-2, 6-2 win over Amara Nwokolo.
In the women’s doubles, Oyinlomo Quadre and Mary Tenu-Michael made an excellent partnership to soundly defeat Rachael Adunoye and Khadijat Salami 6-0, 6-3 and make progress. Quadre and Tenu-Michael won Gold in the women’s doubles at the National Sports Festival in Abuja in December last year.
First round action continues on Tuesday, 25 June at the National Tennis Centre in Abuja.