21st September, 2010
The International Tennis Federation, ITF, has given the players who will take past in the 10th Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship the deadline to register for the competition.
The Fixtures will hold at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan from 15 to 30 October, 2010. The tourney is being sponsored by Etisalat and FCMB as well as other co-sponsors.
According to the website of the world tennis governing body, interested players are to apply for the championship not later than 2p.m. Nigerian time, on Thursday, 30 September, 2010, while withdrawal deadline is fixed for 2p.m. on Tuesday, 5 October, 2010. It also fixed sign-in deadline at 6p.m. Friday, 15 October.
According to the ITF, the singles qualifying of 32 draws will hold between 16 and 17 October, while the Main draws of 32 players for the first week (Futures 1) hold from 18-23 October. The entry fee is peg at $40 per player.
The ITF reminded the female players that they will not enjoy any hospitality from the Local Organising Committee of the tourney, while the male players will be given hospitality and accommodation subsidies.
To this end, the Women’s Singles winner will take home the sum of $25,000, while the Men’s Singles winner will receive the sum of $15,000.
Meanwhile, the Tournament Director, Prince ‘Wale Oladunjoye, has described the impact the Governor’s Cup has on world tennis as awesome.
“I’m glad to say that many top players who are making it big in their careers had come to Nigeria to play in the Governor’s Cup. A good example is Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, who is now the number one player in Pakistan. He was here in 2004 and went on to win the two legs of the tourney.
“He is the only Pakistani tennis player to reach the final of a Grand Slam, which he did in 2010 competing in both mixed doubles (partnering with Kvìta Peschke) and men’s doubles (partnering with Rohan Bopanna) at the just concluded US Open.â€
Tennis Special’s check revealed that Pakistani Number 1, Qureshi has traditionally led Pakistan’s Davis Cup campaigns. After shocking New Zealand in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I second round play-offs in 2004 to survive relegation, he took them to the World Group Play-Offs for the first time in 2005, before they were beaten by Chile.
He has won the most Davis Cup matches for Pakistan, being the most successful singles and doubles player ever. He is also half of the most successful doubles pairing for Pakistan (with Aqeel Khan) in the country’s sporting history.
Qureshi is now a member of the “Champions for Peace†club, a group of 40 athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Monaco-based international organization.
Aisam and his partner Rohan Bopanna have created a campaign, Stop War Start Tennis, with their goal to play a match on the border joining India and Pakistan.