NIGERIA'S Joseph Imeh caused the biggest upset at the ongoing African Junior Tennis Championship (AJC) holding in Cairo, Egypt.Also, in recognition of the contributions of the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, to tennis in the continent, the Confederation of Africa Tennis (CAF) - regional federations under the umbrella of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) - will tomorrow honour him.Unseeded Imeh did the impossible when he came from a set down to beat the competition's number seven seed, Tunisian Majed Kilani, to advance to the round of 16 in the boys' U-16 division. The energy-sapping match brought out the best in the Nigerian teenage sensation despite the huge support behind his opponent.In the first set, the Tunisian beat Imeh 6-2, but Imeh fought hard to win the second set at 6-2 as well. However, in the final set, the Tunisian was leading at 5-2 until Imeh caught up with him for the game to go into tiebreak. Even at tiebreak, the Tunisian took the lead at 5-2, but Imeh took charge, rallying back to win the encounter 7-6 to the chagrin of the North African fans.Also yesterday, Imeh's compatriot, Emmanuel Idoko, had an easy win over Cote d'Ivoire's Abdulkarim Ouattara, beating him 7-5, 6-1, while Michael Michael beat Tanzania's Mallya Nicodemes 6-3, 6-2 in the boys' U-14 category. In the girls' event, Nigerian Comfort Spencer defeated Botswana's Nthabisong Mogopodi 6-0, 6-3.However, Sarah Adegoke and Zainab Oladimeji met their waterloo in South Africa's Theresa Van Zyl and Zani Barnard. Adegoke lost 6-2, 6-1 to Van Zyl, while Oladimeji lost 6-0, 6-2 to the girls' U-14 number five seed to exit the championship.Meanwhile, for his efforts at sustaining and supporting the successive staging of the Governor's Cup Lagos Tennis Championship since 2007, Fashola has been given award by CAT. The continental tennis governing body, through the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF), had in a letter informed Fashola of being a recipient of Long and Outstanding Contribution to Tennis Award to be presented in Cairo on April 13.Fashola, through his Chief of Staff, Lanre Babalola, has written to appreciate CAT for giving him the recognition and the award, while assuring the African tennis body of the state's support to the development of the game.It will be recalled that the Governor's Cup, an ITF-approved circuit with $80,000 prize money, has continued to attract emerging world tennis stars to Lagos since its inception 12 years ago.The tourney enters its 12th edition this year and the Local Organising Committee headed by Pius Akinyelure has promised a glamorous tourney in October.
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