Alex Adewale, the men’s singles defending champion, made it to another final after beating Novatus Temba of Tanzania 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals of the PUMA Engineering Wheelchair Open at the National Tennis Centre in Abuja on Friday.
The 30-year-old Nigerian, who’s seeded No. 1, will now face his countryman, Wasiu Yusuf in Saturday’s final- a repeat of their semifinal match in last year’s edition.
Adewale, who’s yet to drop a set so far, edged Temba in a tricky opening set and then, produced a stronger performance in the second set to seal victory in 2 hours and 2 minutes.
Elsewhere, 2nd seed, Wasiu Yusuf defeated Kenya’s Collins Lumumba 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 to make the final.
Yusuf carved out the decisive break of the first set in the 8th game for 5-3 before consolidating with a hold in the 9th to take it. But Lumumba would restore parity in the second set, as he broke Yusuf twice to force a deciding set, where the Nigerian finally prevailed.
Saturday’s final will be the fourth meeting between Adewale and Yusuf on the ITF wheelchair tennis tour. Adewale leads the pair’s head-to-head 3-0.
However, Adewale and Yusuf have formed an effective partnership in the doubles discipline. The duo claimed their second consecutive men’s doubles title with victory over Kenya’s Collins Lumumba and Peter Munuve.
A 6-2, 6-4 win saw the Nigerians cap off a memorable doubles campaign in Abuja.