Saturday’s semifinals line-up is set, with Marylove Edwards taking on French 5th seed, Iantsatiana Ratovondrahona, and Rebecca Ekpenyong facing 2nd seed, Blanche Minet of Ivory Coast.

In the boys singles, Emmanuel Jebutu, the 3rd seed, faces qualifier, Canice Abua, while Gabriel Friday goes head-to-head with Musa Mohammed.

Edwards showed admirable resolve, as she came back from the brink of defeat to beat Jade Haller of Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Friday. A 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) victory in over 3 hours saw the top seed reach her second ITF semifinal of the 2019 season.

Marylove Edwards

Her semifinal opponent, Iantsatiana Ratovondrahona, hasn’t dropped a set so far and has looked sharp in reaching her first ITF semifinals. Who will prevail?

France’s Iantsatiana Ratovondrahona in action.

Rebecca Ekpenyong has carried her form from last month’s Chevron Junior Masters, where she claimed the girls’ u16 title, through this week’s event to reach her first ITF semis, beating Morenikeji Durowoju of Austria and Oiza Yakubu in straights along the way. Can she maintain the momentum against Blanche Minet, who has also been impressive here?

Rebecca Ekpenyong

Gabriel Friday produced a determined performance to beat top seed, Abayomi Philips 7-6, 7-6 in Friday’s quarter-finals. He will now face another tough test in Musa Mohammed. Mohammed played the qualifying round to make the main draw and has been superb since then, paving his way through the draw without losing a set. Will Friday draw confidence from his quarter-final victory and halt Mohammed’s impressive run?

Gabriel Friday

In the other men’s semifinal, Canice Abua confronts the tournament’s 3rd seed, Emmanuel Jebutu. Also a qualifier, Abua has moved through the draw without conceding a set. Can he keep his fine streak running?

Canice Abua

Meanwhile, the doubles final will be played on Saturday, with Marylove Edwards and Blanche Minet taking on Serena Teluwo and Oiza Yakubu for the girls title, and Emmanuel Jebutu and Abayomi Philips facing Michael Osewa and Assi Boussayri for the boys crown.

Saturday’s Order of Play