BY ADEYEMI ROBINSON-ADEFIOYE, LAGOS
Newcomer SADA NAHIMANA from BURUNDI has had a smooth sail into the final of the women’s singles of the first leg of 2019 LAGOS OPEN TENNIS Championship, which is ongoing at the LAGOS LAWN TENNIS CLUB, ONIKAN.
Eighteen year old NAHIMANA defeated FANNY OSLUND, a SWEDISH star, in straight set of 6-3,6-1 in the semi final decided on Sunday.
NAHIMANA, the right-handed (two-handed backhand) player, will now face BRAZILIAN LAURA PIGOZZI in Monday’s final.
PIGOZZI beat INDIAN RIYA BHATIA in another straight set of 6-2,6-2.
Interestingly, the BURUNDIAN star, NAHIMANA is coming to Lagos for the first time and she has shown since her first match of the main draws of the ITF World Tour that she meant business traveling down to Lagos, the Centre of Excellence.
NAHIMANA is well travelled having played at the junior tournaments of major grand slams. She played to the first round stage of the AUSTRALIAN OPEN JUINOR 2019, so also was French Open 2019Junior where she played in the second round.
In 2018, she played in the second round of the WIMBLEDON OPEN JUINOR and first round of US OPEN JUINOR of that year.
Meanwhile, FRENCHMAN CALVIN HEMERY defeated ZIMBABWEAN TAKANYI GARANGANGA 6-4 6-0 to reach the men’s singles final.
HEMERY will play SETKIC ALDIN from BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA who defeated PICHLER DAVID 6-2,5-7,6-3 in another semi final.
The finals of both the SINGLEs and DOUBLES EVENTS were supposed to hold on Sunday, but were rescheduled to Monday because of heavy downpour in Lagos on Saturday which forced matches scheduled for that day to be shifted to Sunday.
