Following two days of round-robin action, the Chevron Junior Tennis Championships has begun to take shape, with some of the youngsters close to sealing semi-final berths.
The top seed in the Boys U-12, Seun Ogunsakin, has one leg in the semifinals after straightforward victories over Mohamed Idris of Abuja, whom he defeated 9-2, and Praise Ikueba of Rivers State, 9-3. The second seed, Precious Ikueba, twin brother of Praise, stayed on course for the semifinals, with hard-fought wins against Emmanuel Ameh of Lagos 9-5, and Lucky Danjuma of Abuja 9-6.
Elsewhere, 14-year-old Serena Teluwo of Lagos, who’s stepping up to play in the 16 age group, showed great promise in her second round-robin match against the second seed, Omolade Aderemi on Thursday.
Teluwo, who blew a 7-2 lead against Peace Obabori in her first round-robin match before eventually losing 8-9, came back focused and determined against Omolade Aderemi, the second seed in the Girls 16. She, however, fell just short, losing 6-9 in the pro-set match.
The round-robin matches are expected to be completed on Friday, with semifinal matches taking place on Saturday. The grand finale will follow on Sunday starting at 1:00pm.
All the results from Day 2
Boys 12
Seun Ogunshakin bt Praise Ikeuba 9-3
Mohammed Idris bt David Edwards 9-0
Praise Ikeuba bt David Edwards 9-3
Precious Aliya bt Solomon Yahweh 9-0
Precious Ikeuba bt Lucky Danjuma 9-6
Mike Nekekpemi bt Emmanuel Ameh 9-4
Seyi Ogunshakin bt Innocent 9-6
Girls 12
Salamatu Haruna bt Juanita Meuka 9-0
Nene Yakubu bt Comfort Alex 9-0
Mary Azi bt Faith Adeusi 9-5
Amarachi Ezeh bt Favour Amarachi 9-3
Boys 16
David Dawariye bt Confidence Igben 9-0
Habila Hagga bt Tochukwu Okafor 9-1
Sunday Ameh bt Suleiman Ibrahim 9-2
Philip Pyagbara bt Arwal Garba 9-3
Abubakar Aliyu bt Usman Garuba 9-5
Omote Agogo bt FearGod Godfrey 9-7
Daniel Adeleye bt Kevin Brendan 9-1
Joshua Maxwell bt Gbolahan Oladipupo 9-4
Girls 16
Rebecca Ekpeyong bt Destiny Okhinaye 9-1
Mary Udoffa bt Di Mario Excellent 9-0
Favour Moses bt Chidinma Ezeh 9-5
Toyosi Adeusi bt Ngowari Jim Jaja 9-5
Omolayo Bamidele bt Olamide Aluko 9-5
Peace Udoh bt Favour Abengowe 9-0
Peace Udoh bt Sofia Office 9-0
Peace Obabori bt Amarachi Odoh 9-8
Omolade Aderemi bt Serena Teluwo 9-6
Serena Teluwo bt Amarachi Odoh 9-3