Organisers of the Davis Cup World Group II play-offs tie between Nigeria and Uzbekistan are hopeful of a large turnout of fans when both countries face each other at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, located at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Davis Cup, the world’s leading international men’s team tennis competition organised by the International Tennis Federation, is structured across multiple tiers.
Nigeria are among the teams vying for places in the World Group II play-offs and will host Uzbekistan in a two-day tie on Saturday and Sunday.
As players from both countries fine-tune their preparations on court, the Nigeria Central Planning Committee is also leaving no stone unturned, as organisers seek strong home support during the two-day clash.
Chairman of the Marketing and Media Committee, Prince Kunle Oyekanmi, is optimistic about a huge turnout from the home crowd, following efforts to mobilise support.
“The follow-up to our sponsors and private schools, with the distribution of flyers, took place on Wednesday and Thursday in Lekki, Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Ikeja. We also covered some corporate offices and a number of schools,” Oyekanmi said.
“We have assurances of a huge turnout for the two-day tie.”
Nigeria’s number-one male player, Daniel Adeleye, will lead the home team against the Uzbeks, with Canice Abua and Michael Emmanuel also included based on their national rankings.
Uche Oparaoji returns to the squad, while Abubakar Yusuf earns his Davis Cup debut, having previously represented Nigeria at the Africa Games in Ghana.
The Nigerian team has been in camp since Wednesday, January 21, initially training at the National Stadium before moving to the match venue.
Meanwhile, the Uzbek delegation arrived with four players and four officials.
The Lagos tie will be contested over two days and will comprise five rubbers — four singles matches, and one doubles encounter.
Ranked 74th in the world, Nigeria will be hoping to upset Uzbekistan, who are ranked 49th, when both nations clash on the centre court of the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club this weekend.
Read the full article here
