ITF picks April 16-May 6 for Nigeria Futures 1-3

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has released the dates for the Futures 1-3 which will hold in Abuja from April 16- to May 6.

The ITF website showed that the tournaments expected to attract players from about 60 countries have been listed by the sport’s governing body. However, the factsheet as well as the deadline for registration are yet to be set for interested players.

The three tournaments have the promo names; Tombim Open, Dayak Open and GSL Open and are all sponsored by Nigerians including current president of the Nigeria Tennis Federation, Dayo Akindoju.

The Tombim Open, which is in its fourth year, is sponsored by Edmond Ajoge while the GSL Open, which was first held last year, is bankrolled by Bayo Okusanya.

Nigerians struggled to make significant impact at the last edition with a few of them reaching the second round although Spainbased Sylvester Emmanuel made it to the final in the doubles of the Dayak Open partnering French-Nigerian Calvin Hemery, who went on to win the inaugural GSL Open.

Already, a host of Nigerians have stepped up preparations for the championship. Thomas Otu, a former NTF top-ranked player said he wants to have his best outing at the championship this year by reaching the quarterfinals in two of the three tournaments.

The same view was shared by Joseph Imeh, the new Nigeria number one who is looking ahead for a memorable outing at the Nigerian capital.

He said, “My next target is the Futures in Abuja. I’m in a very good shape and I want to play well against the foreigners. I have been doing very well in the tournament in Nigeria but I want to know the level of my game by playing against players from other countries.”