The final four men standing in the Tombim Abuja Open will do battle on Saturday, with a place in the final up for grabs at the National Tennis Centre.
The highest-ranked players left in the draw, Sadio Doumbia, seeded 2nd, and 3rd seed, Arjun Kadhe, will go head-to-head in the first match on Centre Court, before Jaimee Floyd Angele and Dan Added collide in an all-French semifinal affair.
Sadio Doumbia [2] vs Arjun Kadhe [3]
Doumbia and Kadhe open proceedings on Centre Court in this mouth-watering showdown.
Indian, Kadhe cruised through his first couple of matches against Spain’s Hugo Largo and Burundian, Guy Orly Iradukunda, but he met a sterner test against Benjamin Lock in the quarterfinals. The 25-year-old dropped his first set of the tournament against Zimbabwean, Lock, but he prevailed in a final set tiebreaker after 2 hours and 24 minutes to reach his second ITF World Tour semi-final of the season.
A month ago, Kadhe reached the last four at the M25 event in Mildura, Australia, but retired due to injury. Will he be able to go one better on Saturday?
Doumbia, ranked 389th in the world, will be a very hard hurdle to cross. The Frenchman, like Kadhe, has dropped only one set all week- to Maxime Mora in the second round. Either side of that victory over Mora, he defeated Ivorian wildcard, Abdoulaziz Bationo 6-0 6-1 in the first round, and took out Swede Simon Yitbarek 7-6 6-3 in the quarter after an hour and 39 minutes to make his first semi-final of the season.
Both men have played impressively all week, but who will advance to Sunday’s final?
Jaimee Floyd Angele vs Dan Added
666th-ranked Jaimee Angele and Dan Added square off in this all-French clash for a place in the final.
Last year, Angele reached this same stage at the Tombim Open, but went down to Markus Eriksson of Sweden in straight sets. He has played brilliantly through the week- can he now go a step better?
Angele’s big-serving has seen him rack up 39 aces en route to the semis, dropping just a set in the process- to Danylo Kalenichenko in the second round. In the first and second rounds, he fired down 14 aces each, and then hit 11 against Peter Kobelt in Friday’s quarterfinals. Can he power past his countryman and reach his first career final on the ITF World Tour, or will Added neutralize the youngster?
Dan Added is looking to reach his first ITF World Tour final since November 2017 (in Valesske, Mezirici, Czech Republic). The Frenchman, who will turn 20 on semifinals day, is the only player left who hasn’t dropped a set so far, defeating Fabien Reboul, Arvid Nordquist, and William Bushamuka to reach his second semi-final of 2019. Will he keep up that form and celebrate his 20th birthday in style by reaching the final?
The doubles title will be decided for on Saturday, with 2nd-seeded Zimbabwean duo, Benjamin Lock and John Lock taking on 3rd-seeded French pair, Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul.
The Locks will be playing for their 8th doubles title on the ITF World Tennis Tour on Saturday. In October last year, they won the Lagos Open doubles title
Saturday’s Full Order of Play
Centre Court
Starting at 10:00
Arjun Kadhe (IND) [3] vs. Sadio Doumbia (FRA) [2]
Followed By
Jaimee Floyd Angele (FRA) vs. Dan Added (FRA)
After Rest, Not Before 15:00
Sadio Doumbia (FRA) / Fabien Reboul (FRA) [3] vs. Benjamin Lock (ZIM) / Courtney John Lock (ZIM) [2]
