The 2019 Lagos Open Tennis Championship ended yesterday with France-born Nigerian player, Calvin Hemery, and Indian, Riya Bhatia, winning the men and women’s singles, respectively.
The finals, which was shifted 24 hours because of a downpour in Lagos metropolis, on Sunday, was the climax of the second leg of the ITF World Tennis Tour at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.
Frenchman, Hemery, won the tournament back to back as he was the winner of the first leg. Interestingly, his opponent in yesterday’s final was the same Bosnia Herzegovina opponent, Aldin Setkic, who he defeated in the first leg.
The final was an easy one for Hemery as Setkic retired when the game result was 4-2.
To Hemery, whose father is from Edo State, winning the ITF World Tour was a thing of joy for him, adding that he felt elated with the support he received from Nigerian fans, who he described as one of the rallying forces that propelled the victory.
The women’s singles final was a tough match for the winner, Indian Riya Bhatia, who was stretched in the three sets thriller by opponent from Slovenia, Nastja Kolar. The crucial match ended 7-5,1-6,6-3.
Bhatia described her opponent as a good player, adding that it took her determined effort to win the match.