23rd April, 2015
Damilare Okunola
Photo: Damilare Okunola
Vastly travelled Serena Teluwo, 8, justified the investment of time and money her parents are making on her tennis by beating the No.2 seed Mary Udofa from Kogi State 9-6 in the Girls 10 and under round robin playoffs at the ongoing Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Junior Tennis Championship in Lagos.
Playing on centre court with her mother, Joy and two elder sisters watching, Serena- the youngest player at this year’s tournament- peeled off at 4 -4 winning five out of the next seven games to secure a semifinal place.
The Teluwos had sent their daughter to the JC Fererro Tennis Academy in Spain in 2013 at age six to establish a firm foundation for her development and played in two age group tournaments in America in March 2015.
“Serena has got the talent and enjoys playing tennis. We would give her all the support and encouragement she needs to excel,” an excited Mrs. Teluwo, who led the cheers for her daughter, said after the entertaining encounter.
It was Serena’s second win over Udofa in as many matches as she also beat the Lokoja-based player to win last month’s MP Tigers Junior Tennis Championship at the Lagos Country Club, Ikeja.
In other matches, national junior champion, Angel Mcleod was pushed by Peace Udoh in the Girls 16s but finally overpowered her opponent who showed some remarkable improvement from the last junior tournament.
Mcelod who played in the Senior Masters last December eventually won 9-6.
In some of the boys’ matches decided on Wednesday, Nmesoma Ekeugo edged Taiwo Olufemi 9-8 in a Boys 12 match.
The two Lagos-based players needed a tie-break to decide the match. In a Boys 14 match while Gabriel Friday from Kaduna beat Wilson Igbinovia from the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club 9-2.
The round robin matches are expected to be concluded today with four players emerging from each age group for the semifinals.
The competition is featuring singles events in five age categories: boys and girls 10. 12, 14, 16 and 18.