Every single player will have their sights set on securing a quarterfinal ticket when second round action at the GSL Open gets underway on Thursday at the National Tennis Centre in Abuja.

Top seed and Tombim champion, Sadio Doumbia, Dayak champion, Tom Jomby and all other seeded players are in singles action, while the Nigerian-British pair of Musa Mohammed and Mukhtar Andu are in contention for a place in the semifinals of the doubles event.

France’s Doumbia will take on Namibia’s Tuki Jacobs for a place in the quarterfinals. Both players come into the match on the back of convincing first round victories. While Jacobs, the only African left in the draw, defeated Czech’s Dominik Palan 6-2, 6-4, Doumbia’s was a 6-4, 6-1 win over Kunal Anand of India.

The Frenchman, ranked 377 in the world, is aiming for a second title in Abuja, having clinched the Tombim Open title in the first leg. Jacobs, meanwhile, is into the second round for the first time since the Abuja events began two weeks ago. The 25-year-old is looking to reach his first quarter-final in almost a year.

Tuki Jacobs in action.

Unseeded American, Michael Zhu has been given the unenviable task of stopping Tom Jomby of France, who’s seeded fourth. Zhu, who’s competing in Abuja for the first time this week, rolled through young Brit, Mukhtar Andu 6-4, 6-0 in the opening round on Tuesday. The 26-year-old has hopes of reaching his first quarterfinal this year, but must now outhit Jomby, who’s currently in sizzling form.

The Frenchman is on a 6-match winning streak, a run that began at the Dayak Championships last week, where he won the title. Not in one of those six matches has he dropped a set. He certainly will be seeking to keep up that intensity and remain on course for his 7th ITF World Tour title. Both men are meeting for the first time and Jomby appears to be the favourite for the win. Will he justify that tag?

Tom Jomby has won 12 consecutive sets in Abuja so far.

Fifth seed, Jack Draper and Swedish qualifier, Simon Yitbarek go head-to-head in an afternoon match on Centre Court. It’s a repeat of their first round clash at the Dayak Championships a week ago, which Draper won 6-3, 6-4.

Draper, aged 17, who won the 2nd leg of the Lagos Open in October last year, will be looking to get one over the 18-year-old Swede again and stay on track for his fourth title on the ITF World Tour. The 560-ranked Brit began his campaign at the GSL Open this week with a bang, crushing Maxime Mora of France 6-0, 6-0 in 44 minutes.

Yitbarek, meanwhile, advanced to the second round following a 7-5, 1-0 (rtd) victory over Joseph Imeh. He reached his first quarter-final of the season at the Tombim Open two weeks ago. Can he get his revenge against Draper and match that run here on Thursday?

Simon Yitbarek trails Jack Draper 0-1 in career meetings. Can he even scores on Thursday and make progress?

Meanwhile, first match on Centre Court sees Dan Added, who’s made back-to-back semifinals here in Abuja these past weeks, take on second seed and last year’s beaten finalist, Arjun Kadhe in an interesting second round clash.

Arjun Kadhe finished as runner-up at this event in 2018. Can he go a step better this time?

Kadhe made it to the semifinals of the Tombim Open in the first leg, but was beaten in the first round at the Dayak Championships last week. Can the 393rd-ranked Indian get his mojo back fully and enjoy another strong week here? Dan Added finished as a semi-finalist in both the Tombim Open and Dayak Championship. He will surely be aiming to go one better in this final leg as he continues his search for his title on the ITF World Tour.

Dan Added in action.

In the doubles event now, the Nigerian-British duo of Musa Mohammed and Mukhtar Andu will square off against the French pair of Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul, who are seeking their third straight title in Abuja and 7th on the ITF World Tour as a team.

Mohammed and Andu, who are the youngest duo in the doubles draw, aged 17 and 14, respectively, defeated the Nigerian pair of Oche Emmanuel and Sani Musa in three sets on Tuesday, and will now be hoping to upset the odds in Thursday’s doubles quarterfinals and reach the last four.