By Ayo Bada
The first leg (Futures 5) of the 16th edition of Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship ended at the weekend with Spanish and Slovakia players winning the men and women’s singles of the tournament.
Spain’s Enrique Lopez-Perez, who won the competition in the 2012 edition, did it again when he defeated Gianni Mina in the grudge final of the men’s singles that ended 6-2,6-7(7),6-1 at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.
In the women’s singles, Slovak Majeric, who won the final in the 2013 edition and runner up in the 2015 competition, was superb in the final against a consistent regular face in the Governor’s Cup in the last six years, Swiss Conny Perrin. Majeric won the final 3-6,6-1,6-1.
The first leg winners said that they were looking forward to the second week (Futures 6) with high hopes of consolidating on their feat in Futures 5.
“I’m happy winning this again. I was runner-up last year. There’s no doubt Conny was a tough player. She took the first set, I had to fight back to win the other two sets. This is a great tournament for us and I’m glad to be here again, as this is my fifth time in Lagos . For the second week, it is not yet over; getting double victory will be good for my game and ranking in the world, ” Majeric said.
To her opponent, Swiss Conny Perrin, “Majeric who I knew proved a hard nut to crack for me. I gave my everything to this match, but she showed that she’s the best. I can only look forward to the second week, ” she said.
The duo of Chayenne Ewijk and Rosalie Van Der Hoek, both from The Netherlands beat the pairs of Valetini Grammatikopoulou from Greece and Indian Prarthana Thombare in straight set of 6-3,7-5.
The men’s doubles was won by Enrique Lopez – Perez from Spain and Boy Westerhof from The Netherlands, who defeated the pairs of France’s Calvin Hemery and Gianni Mina in straight set of 6-2,6-3.
Meanwhile, the Main Draws of the second leg (Futures 6) serve off on Monday with the hope for Nigerians to make it past the quarter finals level the male players reached in the first leg.
President of Nigeria Tennis Federation, NTF, Engr Sani Ndanusa, said that Nigeria indeed celebrates the level the local players attained in Future 5, adding that the federation will continue to provide enabling environment for them to improve on their games.
He poured encomium on Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State for not only supporting the continuation of the championship, but ensured that the Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis is improved in the second years of his government with the increase in the prize money from $80,000 to $100,000 from this year’s competition.