Main draw action begins on Tuesday at the Dayak Tennis Championships, with three first-round singles matches and a host of first-round doubles action kicking off the second ITF World Tour event at the National Tennis Centre in Abuja.

Nigeria’s Uche Oparaoji will play in his first ever match on the ITF World Tennis Tour when he takes to court on Tuesday. He is the only Nigerian in main draw action on Day 2.

The 21-year-old will be looking to start off on a fine note when he takes on India’s Kunal Anand. Oparaoji has been a force in national tournaments, and had quite a season last year, reaching at least the quarterfinals of all national tournaments he played in. The Nigerian will certainly seek to bring in that form to the ITF Tour event this week.

Anand, meanwhile, is coming off a first round loss at the Tombim Abuja Open last week, which was his first main draw match this year.

Ukraine’s Danylo Kalenichenko will open play on Centre Court when he takes on Suraj Prabodh of India. The Ukrainian, a two-time ITF World Tour winner, reached the second round of the Tombim Open last week. He has had a relatively good season so far, reaching the final of an M25 event in Great Britain in February, and making back-to-back quarterfinal appearances in M15 events in Norway and France in March. Suraj Prabodh, meanwhile, is 0-1 this year, with that sole match coming last week in the first round of the Tombim Open.

Danylo Kalenichenko after his first round win over Joseph Imeh at the Tombim Abuja Open last week.

Frenchman, Dan Added will meet India’s Sundar Prashanth in the third singles match on Day 2. Added made a run to the semifinals of the Tombim Open last week, and will be looking to go a step better this week at the Dayak Championships. First, though, he will have to get past the 32-year-old Indian, who’s a four-time ITF World Tour champion.

A sole quarterfinal showing in the M15 tournament in Anning, China, has been the highlight of Prashanth’s season, which is characterized by a 6-7 win-loss record, so far. Added, on the other hand, has an 11-7 win-loss record this year, and has only failed to move past the first round in two of seven events he has played in.

20-year-old Added all smiles after reaching the quarterfinals of the Tombim Open last week.

There will be interesting doubles team match-ups on the day, with Tombim Open doubles champion, Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul, as well as the Lock brothers, in action.

Doumbia and Reboul will begin pursuit of their second doubles crown in Abuja when they take on the French-Taiwanese tandem of Maxime Mora and Li-Wie Tan, while the Zimbabwean pair of Benjamin Lock and John Lock, who finished as runner-up at the Tombim Open last week, will hope to go one step further this week. They take on the Brazilian pair of Gilbert Soares Junior and Pedro Sorgi as they begin their quest for a ninth ITF World Tour title as a team.

Nigerians, Tochukwu Ezeh and Uche Oparaoji have joined forces and will open up against the duo of Williams Bushamuka and Simon Yitbarek, while Musa Mohammed and Britain’s Mukhtar Andu begin their doubles partnership against the top-seeded Indian pair of Arjun Kadhe and Sundar Prashanth.

Away from the main draw match-ups, Joseph Imeh is still locked in a second round qualifying tussle with USA’s William Bushamuka. Imeh was leading 7-6(4), 4-4 before the match was suspended. It will resume on Tuesday.

Tuesday’s Order of Play

Centre Court

Starting at 10:30
Danylo Kalenichenko (UKR) vs. Suraj Prabodh (IND)

Followed By
Sundar Prashanth (IND) vs. Dan Added (FRA)

Not Before 12:30
Gilbert Soares Junior (BRA) / Pedro Sorgi (BRA) vs.
Benjamin Lock (ZIM) / John Lock (ZIM) [2]

After Rest, Court & Time TBA
Kunal Anand (IND) / Oleg Khotkov (UKR) vs. Dan Hiddleson (USA) / Markus Schultz (SWE)

Court 1

Starting at 10:00
William Bushamuka (USA) [7] vs. Joseph Imeh Ubon (NGR) [11]

Not Before 12:30
Tom Jomby (FRA) / Peter Kobelt (USA) vs. Luke Jacob Gamble (USA) / Guy Orly Iradukunda (BDI)

After Rest, Not Before 14:00
William Bushamuka (USA) / Simon Yitbarek (SWE) vs. Tochukwu Emmanuel Ezeh (NGR) / Uche Oparaoji (NGR)

After Rest, Court & Time TBA
Dominik Palan (CZE) / Suraj Prabodh (IND) vs. Dan Added (FRA) / Michail Pervolarakis (GRE) [4]

Court 5