Nigeria Qualifies For WWT Tourney

Nigeria last Sunday qualified for the 2013 BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Antalya, Turkey, after winning the men’s event of the Africa Wheelchair Tennis Qualification tournament.
They qualified for the May 2013 event for the second time in a row in Nairobi, Kenya, alongside South Africa, which won the women’s event.
Nigeria qualified for the men’s World Group 2 after ending the event in Kenya without dropping a singles rubber.
They won both of their round-robin ties against Ghana and Mauritius and Sunday’s final against Egypt 3-0.
Jude Uwazie got Nigeria off to a perfect start in the final, beating Egypt’s Hassan Mohamed 6-0 6-2.
The competition’s most-ranked player, Wasiu Yusuf, met a stiffer resistance against Aly Mohamed in the second singles rubber.
But he went on to secure a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Aly Mohamed, to ensure Nigeria’s victory.
Uwazie and Yusuf then went on to beat their respective singles opponents 6-2 6-0 in the doubles rubber.
Tanzania finished third in the men’s event, after beating Ghana 3-0, while Gambia claimed fifth place after defeating Mauritius 3-0.
Nigeria’s women’s team, who made their debut in the tournament, could not match their male colleagues as they fell in the preliminary stage.
On the Nigerian team’s participation, Sani Ndanusa, President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF), said he was highly impressed with the contingent’s performance.
“Our two teams left last week for Kenya, unheralded, but right now they are the toast of all as they did not disappoint us.
“In spite of all odds, they have qualified to make us happy and I am very impressed,’’ he said.
Ndanusa, who is also the President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), then assured that the NTF would ensure the men’s team was well prepared for the World Cup.
“We will do our utmost best with the assistance of all relevant stakeholders to ensure the team is well prepared for utmost performance in Turkey in May,’’ he added.