Action-packed day at the NTF International Junior Championships on Wednesday, with players in the boys field looking to secure second round spots, while the girls go all out for a place in the quarterfinals.
Last week’s champion, Canice Abua, opens his second leg account on Wednesday, while Blanche Minet, who finished as runner-up in the girls singles last week, kick-starts her campaign this week.
Blanche Minet
Abua will aim to reproduce the spectacular performances that saw him secure his maiden ITF Junior title last week in this week’s event. The youngster, who turns 15 on Friday, opens his account against Ghanaian 6th seed, Desmond Ayaaba. Ayaaba, 15, has a 3-3 win-loss record on the ITF Junior Circuit this season and will be hoping to improve on that here, in Abuja.
Canice Abua
In the girls field, Cote d’Ivoire’s Blanche Minet, seeded 3rd, squares off against Nigeria’s Joy Samuel. Samuel, who could only go as far as the second round last week, will be aiming for a better outing this week.
Joy Samuel
But Minet, the runner-up to Marylove Edwards last week, could present a tough test.
5th seed, Oiza Yakubu, and Serena Teluwo, both of whom teamed up to reach the doubles final last week, will go head-to-head for a place in the singles quarter-final on Wednesday.
6th seed, Iantsatiana Ratovondrahona of France takes on Naomi Samuel for the second time in as many weeks. Ratovondrahona defeated the Nigerian in straight sets en route to the semifinals last week. Will the French teenager come out on top again? Or will Samuel get her revenge and cause an upset?
France’s Iantsatiana Ratovondrahona
In other matches, Assil Boussayri, the 2nd seed from Morocco, will play Nigerian qualifier, Kumabo Kundams, with a place in the second round on the line, while 5th seed, Joshua Aji, a quarter-finalist last week, takes on Ivan Wularu of Ghana. India’s Siddharth Tirupati confronts David Dawariye.
Matches begin from 10:00am at the National Tennis Centre, Abuja.
Wednesday’s Order of Play
