Daniel Adeleye and Abubakar Yusuf emerged as champions in the Men’s Doubles event at the ongoing VEMP National Open Tennis Championship, defeating the duo of Canice Abua and Musa Mohammed in a pulsating final held Friday at the National Tennis Centre, Package B of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
The tightly contested match ended 6-3, 4-6, 10-8 in favor of Adeleye and Yusuf, who displayed exceptional teamwork and mental toughness to edge their determined opponents in a super tie-break decider.
Adeleye and Yusuf started strong, taking the first set 6-3. However, Abua and Mohammed fought back valiantly to win the second set 6-4, pushing the contest into a deciding match tiebreak, which the eventual champions narrowly claimed 10-8.
Road to the Final: Adeleye/Yusuf
Round of 16: Def. Endurance Ehiegiamusoe/Saidu Sani-Inabo 6-1, 6-2
Quarterfinals: Def. Yahaya Sani-Inabo/Jeremiah Benjamin 6-3, 3-1 (retired)
Semifinals: Def. Lucky Danjuma/Mubarak Ganiyu 6-1, 7-6(5)
Abua/Mohammed’s Path to Final
Round of 16: Def. Terry Akuchu/Charles Uwandu 6-1, 6-1
Quarterfinals: Def. Gbolahon Olawale/Imole Adisa 6-2, 6-1
Semifinals: Def. Mathew Abamu/Emmanuel Michael 7-5, 2-6, 10-5
Adeleye Reflects on Victory
Speaking after the match, an elated Adeleye from Ekiti State dedicated the win to teamwork and perseverance.
“I congratulate myself and my partner for this strong performance. We executed our game plan perfectly. I wasn’t even able to train before coming due to illness, so this win means a lot. Now, I’ll focus on the singles final tomorrow and hope to lift another trophy.”
The VEMP National Open Tennis Championship, organized by the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) and sponsored by its President, Ifedayo Akindoju, kicked off on July 4 and is scheduled to conclude on Saturday, July 12.
With 192 players competing across men’s and women’s singles and doubles categories, the tournament continues to serve as a vital platform for discovering and developing Nigeria’s tennis talents.
