Joseph Imeh and Oyinlomo Quadre on Saturday emerged winners of the men’s and women’s events at the 43rd CBN Senior Open Tennis Championship in Abuja.
Imeh who was the tournament’s top seed and the current number one ranked player in the country was dominant in his game.
After a nervy and pulsating encounter, he came back from a set down to beat Uche Oparaoji, the tournament’s number four seed, 3-6 7-5 6-4.
“It’s been a long and hectic journey to the final and I am so excited to have been able to defend my title after a very nervy and shaky start.
“Winning the title back-to-back has been down to a lot of dedication and hard work.
“As the defending champion, all the pressure was on me coming into this tournament and especially in the final and I feel relieved to have delivered the goods at the end,” an excited Imeh told reporters.
Oparaoji on his part, expressed mixed feelings, saying that even though he did not win, reaching the final of the tournament was already a great achievement for him.
“I thank God for everything. You win some and lose some but in all I am so happy for the podium finish.
“I think it could have been a different result if only I had approached the second set the way I did in the first.
“I was being too careful and failed to take my chances when I had the opportunity to kill the game and that was my greatest undoing.
“Having said that, I will go back to the drawing board to see where I made mistakes and hopefully come back stronger and better in the next edition,” Oparaoji told NAN after the game.
In the women’s singles category, Quadre was ruthless as ever as she thrashed Marylove Edward 6-1 6-0 to make it three wins in a row for the defending champion.
“It was as exciting as expected. I had a lot of nerves but was more excited than nervous.
“The games were a bit tough and were more often about deuce advantage but I think the final result didn’t really reflect how the game went.
“I had to stay focused and tried to win every point because I have been there several times and know anything can happen when it comes to the finals.
“So, I am so delighted to have etched my name in the history of this tournament, winning it three times in a row,” an elated Quadre said.
Edward on her part said she lost to a better player, adding however that injury played a big part in her defeat.
“It was a good match but I honestly wasn’t 100 percent fit for the match.
“I picked up a wrist injury during the semi-finals and struggled to play to my full potential in the final,” she said.
Results of other matches played earlier saw the duo of Matthew Abamu and Chima Michael defeat the pair of Abdulmumuni Babalola and Lawal Shehu 2-0 (6-3 6-0) in the men’s doubles final.
Quadre and Toyin Asogba dispatched the pair of Jesutoyosi Adeusi and Khadijat Salami in two straight sets 6-1 6-0 to emerge winners of the women’s doubles final.
The championship ended on Saturday.
