By Victor Okoye
Abuja, May 19, 2023 (NAN) David Ekpeyong and Peter Lawal on Friday secured final berths in the men’s singles event at the ongoing DavNotch Senior Tennis Open Championships in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that number three seed Ekpeyong left spectators in shock as he caused an upset in the men’s singles event’s semi-finals on Friday.
This was after he easily dismissed number two seed Henry Atseye, forcing him to retire at 6-2, 4-0 at the end of a surprisingly one-sided encounter.
The hard-hitting Ekpeyong was in a punishing mood and kept his dreams for a first DavNotch title on track.
This was when he dismantled his opponent with hard, fast and pinpoint serves which produced countless aces that Atseye found difficult to deal with.
It was only a matter of time before Atseye threw in the towel midway into the second set under humid conditions, to allow Ekpeyong stroll into Saturday’s men singles final.
“It feels so good to be in my second final in the space of two weeks.
“Though I felt a little let down by my performance in the last final at the Vemp Open as I was confident of victory going into the game against Uche Oparaoji (Nigeria’s number one ranked player)
“Having said that, at this level, it’s important to have a good feeling on the court and good memory of coming to a place where you have done well.
“This is because tennis is a game of fine margins that decide who is going to take a win in a match.
“Often, how you feel mentally, whether you’re fighting with your demons inside in a good or bad way affects the end result.
“But here I always felt good going into every match right from day one and hopefully I can go a step further this time to clinch my first title here,” an excited Ekpeyong said.
It was however a different scenario in the second semi-final encounter as number four seed Lawal was forced to work hard against a very resilient Sylvanus Ajang.
Giant-killer Ajang who had been on a fairytale winning run against top opponents in the tournament (including number one seed Oparaoji), saved as many as nine break points as he engaged Lawal in long rallies.
Lawal was however able to survive the onslaught from his opponent to clinch the tie 7-5, 6-4 , 6-4 ending the number 17 seed’s fairytale run after three hours of a pulsating encounter in the scorching heat.
“It was definitely one of the most humid conditions I have ever had in my career,” said Lawal.
“It was brutal. Obviously playing against an opponent such as Ajang is never easy, especially after what he has been able to achieve in this tournament.
“You are coming into the court knowing you are going to have a lot of exchanges, a lot of rallies.
“So, I had to prepare myself physically and mentally for the challenge. Now I am looking forward to the next challenge against another tough opponent in the final,” an exhausted Lawal told NAN after the game.
The third edition of the DavNotch Senior Open Championships which began on Monday will end on Saturday.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
