The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Davis Cup

  • ‘Davis Cup to stimulate sports tourism’

    ‘Davis Cup to stimulate sports tourism’

    Preparations for the Davis Cup World Group II tie between Nigeria and Uzbekistan in February in Lagos, is in top gear. Organisers have confirmed full technical, security and logistical readiness for the international men’s team tennis fixture.

    The confirmation was given at a joint media briefing by Nigeria Tennis Federation and Lagos Lawn Tennis Club 1895, where federation’s President, Victor Ochei, described the hosting rights as a statement of Nigeria’s growing stature in global tennis.

    “This hosting opportunity reflects Nigeria’s steady rise in international tennis following consistent performances in recent years,” Ochei said. “It also demonstrates the confidence of the International Tennis Federation in our organisational capacity, infrastructure and security arrangements.”

    The Davis Cup, the world’s leading international men’s team tennis competition organised by ITF, is structured across multiple tiers. World Group II represents a highly competitive level, with nations contesting promotion to World Group I.

    The Lagos tie will be played over two days and consist of five rubbers—four singles and one doubles match.

    Read Also: FULL LIST: 75 countries where US suspends visa processing

    Ochei said hosting the tie goes beyond on-court action, noting that it will stimulate sports tourism, economic activity and youth development, while further strengthening Nigeria’s reputation as a reliable destination for major international sporting events.

    To ensure seamless execution, the federation has constituted a 15-member Central Planning Committee, chaired by Victor Hembah, working with ITF, National Sports Commission, Lagos State, security agencies and the host club.

    Hembah emphasised the role of media visibility in driving fan engagement and turnout.

    “Media and publicity are critical to the success of this event,” he said. “We are deploying robust, real-time coverage across mainstream broadcast platforms and digital media to ensure widespread visibility and strong spectator presence.”

    On venue readiness, the President of the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club 1895, Dr Adeyinka Adewusi, assured that the historic club is fully prepared to host the tie.

    “Lagos Lawn Tennis Club 1895 is very ready to host this

  • Davis Cup Success boosts Nigeria in latest ITF Rankings

    Davis Cup Success boosts Nigeria in latest ITF Rankings

    Nigeria has jumped  into the top ten tennis playing nation in Africa after leaping 10 places in the latest Davis Cup rankings to land in 82nd position in the world.

    The new International Tennis Federation (ITF) spot is as a result of the country’s impressive performance ay  the recently  World Group II playoffs  held recently in Abuja

    In the Africa Group III Qualifiers in Abuja, earlier in the year, Nigeria, parading the likes of Christopher Bulus, Michael Emmanuel, Uche Oparaoji, Daniel Adeleye and Wilson Igbinovia, lost only to Namibia (3-0) throughout the tournament.

    Read Also: MFM shines  at NBBF/Zenith Bank Women’s  B’ball League

    Ahead of the Abuja event, Nigeria, ranked 92 in the world, was the lowest positioned of the six nations that participated in the week-long  tennis tournament.

    However, Nigeria dusted the likes of Cote d’Ivoire, Benin Republic, Ghana and Zimbabwe with outstanding performances to move up in the rankings.

    Only Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Togo, in that order, are ahead of Nigeria in the African zone of the latest Davis Cup rankings.

    Opportunity for Team Nigeria to challenge for higher places in Africa will come up in February in 2025 when the Davis Cup World Group II playoffs get underway.

  • Davis Cup: Nigeria  face Cote d’Ivoire after  loss to Namibia

    Davis Cup: Nigeria  face Cote d’Ivoire after  loss to Namibia

    Team Nigeria will take on Cote d’Ivoire in their third match at the on-going Davis Cup Africa Group III Qualifier event in Abuja today.

    After a very impressive start to their campaign at the tournament with the victory over Zimbabwe, the home team were pegged back by a rampaging Namibian side in the two singles matches played yesterday.

    Wilson Igbinovia could not contain the firepower of Codie Schalk Van Shalykwyk losing 1-6, 1-6 in straight sets to the Namibian player.

    In the second rubber, Nigeria’s number one player in the Davis Cup event, Christopher Bulus, started with a brilliant  6-3 win against Connor Henry Van Schalkwyk in the first set.

    But in the second set, the US-based Nigerian star player succumbed to a 6-7 tie break loss against the former world number 36 junior player to set up a final set encounter.

    In the final set, Bulus suffered a thigh injury which stopped him from moving his legs and despite the treatments, it was too little, too late as Namibia held on for an infamous 6-1 win in the final set to take a two-game lead in the tie.

    Read Also: Man Utd forward Greenwood set for Marseille medical

    Daniel Adeleye and Michael Emmanuel tried to redeem the image of the home team but despite their late fight back, the Namibian pair of Jean Erasmus and Codie Shalk Van Shalkwyk ensured a 3-0 win over Nigeria with a 7-6(4), 6-3 defeat of the home team.

    As things stand, the Nigerian team sit fourth on the group of six countries and must win their match against the Ivorians who are yet to win a single match at the ongoing competition.

    A win for team Nigeria will give the boys a  lifeline in their quest to gain promotion to World Group II.

    Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe are the countries competing for promotion from Africa Group III.

    Three nations will gain promotion while two will be relegated to Group IV. Only one of the six teams will remain in Group III at the end of the event.

  • Nigeria  secure  rights to host 2024 Davis Cup

    Nigeria  secure  rights to host 2024 Davis Cup

    Nigeria tennis players will not lack home support in the 2024 Davis Cup Africa Group II qualifying rounds after the country secured rights to host the event.

    The tennis players qualified for Group III of the Davis Cup alongside Ghana, following a superb run in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2023.

    The Nigerian quintet of David Ekpenyong, Uche Oparaoji, Wilson Igbinovia, Peter Lawal and Christopher Bulus, guided by Coach Benson Ishicheli, were at their imperious best in Rwanda, where they sealed qualification to Group III.

    Going by the hosting right confirmation, qualification for Group II will be staged in the country’s capital, Abuja after the bid to host the event was submitted early this year.

    Read Also: Preps begin for 2024 Niger Delta Polo Festival

    The president, Nigeria Tennis Federation Engr. Ifedayo Akindoju said: “Yes, 15th July.”

    An indication that Nigeria will be hosting the event from 15 July 2024.

    Also confirming the news was the Secretary General of the Federation, Makpa Aliyu, who noted that it has now been made official by the ITF via a letter sent to the national body.

    He said: “Yes, I can now confirm to you that Nigeria will be hosting the Davis Cup Group III qualifier this year.

     “I have the letter sent by the ITF with me and I can confirm it to you, officially, that we are preparing to host the other nations.”

    Namibia, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire , Benin and Nigeria will be competing for two slots in Group II during the qualifying round.

  • Argentina given wild cards for 2019 Davis Cup finals

    Argentina and Great Britain, recent winners of the Davis Cup, were on Wednesday handed wild cards to compete in next year’s finals of the revamped competition.

    Argentina, 2016 victors, and Britain, who won the previous year, have been selected to join the four semi-finalists from this year’s edition in the climax to the 2019 event.

    The four semi-finalists are: champions France, finalists Croatia, Spain and United States.

    Those nations will be joined in the new week-long, 18-team finals in November 2019 by 12 more who will secure their places from dozen qualifying ties.

    The dozen qualifying ties are to be drawn on Wednesday in London and will be staged in February.

    Argentina and Britain were due to compete in the qualifiers but will now be spared that hurdle after the Davis Cup steering committee gave them a straight pass into the finals.

    Australia and Switzerland, the highest-ranked unseeded nations that lost in the 2018 World Group playoffs, will take their place as seeded nations in the qualifiers.

    Read Also: Two wins in a row for Nigeria’s D’Tigress, beat Argentina

    The makeover of the premier team event in men’s tennis has been made by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), in partnership with the investment group Kosmos.

    Kosmos is founded by Barcelona and Spain football player Gerard Pique.

    The steering committee has given wild cards to two nations with a rich Davis Cup history and a bit of star power.

    The committee is made up of Pique, former Spanish player Galo Blanco, ITF president David Haggerty and ITF vice president Rene Stammbach.

    Argentina, led by Juan Martin Del Potro, won their first title in 2016 in their fifth Davis Cup final while the British team won their 10th title thanks to an inspired performance from Andy Murray.

    Kosmos is promising to invest more than 90 million pounds into the Davis Cup and grassroots tennis.

    The idea of the revamp is to attract the biggest names to the finals, with both Murray and Del Potro fitting that bill.

    With Switzerland and Australia now seeded, it also improves the prospects of the likes of Swiss duo Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, and Australian Nick Kyrgios featuring in the finals.

    The last of the finals to be staged under the traditional format will see France attempting to defend their crown against Croatia in Lille on Nov. 23-25.

  • Pique to pump £2.35bn into revamped Davis Cup

    A controversial revamp of the Davis Cup format has been voted through at the International Tennis Federation’s AGM.

    In November next year the competition will see 18 nations compete in a week-long, round-robin tournament.

    The overhaul of the 118-year-old competition was rubber-stamped despite the Lawn Tennis Association, the governing body of British tennis, announcing on Wednesday that it opposed the changes.

    ITF President David Haggerty said in a statement: ‘I am delighted that the nations have voted to secure the long-term status of Davis Cup.

    ‘Our mission is to ensure that this historic decision will benefit the next generation of players for decades to come.’

    The ITF outlined the changes in conjunction with Kosmos, a company founded and chaired by Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique, who will spend $3 billion (£2.35bn) over 25 years on the new event.

    The Davis Cup is currently played in February, April, September and November at home and away venues.

    However, an increasing number of top players have opted not to play in recent years due to the hectic schedule.

    From next year the 18 countries will be divided into six groups with each qualifying round consisting of three matches – two singles and one doubles – of best-of-three sets.

    The top teams from each group and the two highest-scoring runners-up will play the quarter-finals on the Friday, with the semi-finals on Saturday and the final held on Sunday.

    In explaining its decision to vote against the changes, the LTA said in a statement: ‘Concerns remain that the proposed format and its impact on the tennis calendar, extending the season for players, risks player participation and therefore fan appeal.’

    Great Britain, who won the Davis Cup in 2015, face Uzbekistan in a world group play-off in Glasgow next month.

     

     

     

  • NTF names team for Davis Cup

    The Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) has named a four-man team for this month’s Davis Cup Championships holding in Nairobi, Kenya.

    Nigeria will be competing in Africa Zone Division III alongside host – Kenya; Algeria, Benin Republic, Cameroun, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda and Uganda between June 18 to 23, on clay outdoor at the Nairobi Club.

    Davis Cup veteran – Abdul-mumin Babalola will be the non-playing captain, while others are Christian Paul, Joseph Imeh Ubon and Sylvester Emmanuel.

    Aside from Christian Paul who replaces Clifford Enosoregbe from the team that finished fifth at 2017 edition held in Egypt, the team remains intact and is expected to commence camping this week in Ibadan in readiness for a promotion quest this year.

    To finish fifth in 2017, the team defeated Algeria 2-0 after losing 3-0 and 2-1 to Zimbabwe in Pool A to miss out from the promotion race. But the team managed to beat Rwanda 3-0 to set up a classification clash against Algeria who also finished third in Pool B.

    For 2018, the team will be making another attempt at getting back to the elite division again this year after several attempts in the last five years.

    NTF President, Dayo Akindoju has assured that the team would get the needed support to excel in the tournament. “We are expecting the team to open camp in Ibadan where they will get used to the clay court, which they will play on in Kenya. We hope they can stay in camp before they depart for the tournament in Kenya. We are also hopeful that the selected players will do the nation proud this year,” the NTF boss stated.

    The best outing for Nigeria at the Davis Cup was in 1988 and 1989 when the team reached the Group I semifinals.

  • NTF names team for Davis Cup in Egypt

    Majority of theplayers that represented Nigeria at the last African Games in Congo Brazzaville has been named by the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) as part of the four-man team for this year’s Davis Cup Group III Championship holding this month in Cairo, Egypt.

    The list of players published on the website of Davis Cup tournament, CBN Open Champion, Thomas Otu made the cut while he will be joined  by Clifford Enosoregbe, Christian Paul and Emmanuel Audu, while the non-playing captain is Rotimi Akinloye.

    The team will contend against host – Egypt (106) as well as the highest ranked team in the group, Algeria (88), Benin (97) and Namibia (97) who are all rated higher than Nigeria. Other teams in the group are Mozambique (108), Ghana (112) and Tunisia (114).

    According to the President of NTF, Sani Ndanusa, the team would be supported to do well in Egypt as plans are in top gear to commence camping for the team.

    “We will surely take part in the Davis Cup and we hope to assemble a formidable team. I believe the experience that I have had during the African Games by playing on clay court would surely be helpful to the team. But we are working to get funds from the National Sports Commission (NSC) and our sponsors so that the team can start preparation for the championship,” Ndanusa said.

    Meanwhile, SportingLife leant yesterday that the team may begin camping this week in readiness for the championship holding between October 26 and 31.

    It will be recalled that in 2014, Nigeria failed to make it to Group II and according to the rules of the tournament released by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the tournament will be played on a round-robin basis with the teams drawn into two pools.

    The winners of each pool will engage in a play-off against the runner’s up to determine the two nations that will be promoted to Europe/Africa Zone Group II in 2016.

    For the positional play-offs, teams will compete in the classification to determine the relegated teams. Smash Tennis Academy in Cairo will host the one-week tournament.

    Nigeria’s maiden appearance in the Davis Cup was in 1974 while the best outing of the team was reaching the Group I semifinals in 1988 and 1989.