Nigeria’s No. 1, Sylvester Emmanuel, made a solid start at the Dala Hard Court Championship in Kano today.
The 21-year-old, a 2-time champion at the event, produced a strong performance to beat Musa Bala 6-3, 6-3 and advance to the second round.
Up next for the top seed is Emmanuel Paul, who rallied from a set down to knock out Ikechukwu Iloputa.
Emmanuel Paul in action.
Paul, who represented Nigeria at the Davis Cup in Nairobi, Kenya, in September, got off to a slow start but recovered in time to take the second set and then the third via a tiebreaker for a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) win.
Elsewhere, Nonso Madueke outclassed Abdul Aminu 6-1, 6-0, while Uche Oparaoji moved past Joseph Iyorovbe 6-1, 6-4 to also make the second round.
Uche Oparaoji
The other match between Oche Adehi and Albert Bikom had to be abandoned until Tuesday.
First round action continues on Tuesday at the Kano Club, Kano.
