Tennis
Abuja, May 3, 2018 (NAN) Proceedings at the ongoing Gladiators Systems Limited (GSL) Tennis Open were delayed for one hour and 30 minutes on day four as Abuja experienced early morning showers on Thursday.
In the early quarter-final fixtures which commenced after the courts were drained, fourth seed Arjun Kadhe defeated eighth seed Jelle Sels 6-3 6-3 to book a place in the tournament’s semi-finals.
It was the first time the Indian has reached the semi-finals of the men’s singles in the ATP Pro-Circuit tournament and he did it in one hour and 22 minutes.
Playing on Court 1 at the Abuja National Stadium, Kadhe survived a late resurgence by Sels after easing through the first set.
There was, however, a mild upset on Centre Court, where fifth seed Echargui Moez displayed some tenacity and calmness to see off second seed Karim-Mohamed Maamoun 6-3 7-6(2).
In a game which lasted one hour and 47 minutes, Moez took the first set easily with powerful and precise forehand balls which Maamoun had little response to.
The Egyptian, however, started the second set with more purpose and forced Moez to commit errors which drained him physically and mentally.
The Tunisian trailed Maamoun 3-5 at some stage in the set, before some resilience and assured string of performances returned him back into contention.
Moez eventually took the set after two tie-breaks, guaranteeing him a semi-final place.
Kadhe later told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that he was happy to reach a milestone, in spite of not having an easy quarter-final match.
“It was not an easy match as it seems. It was always tricky because with the season the balls are really fast and you can’t relax. One slip-up and the opponent is back in the match.
“It is my first semi-final in this ATP category and it is really good for me. Last week was not the best for me in terms of tennis during the Dayak Open singles,” the Indian added.
NAN reports that Kadhe and American Ronnie Scheider won the 2018 Dayak Open doubles event and have also reached the GSL Open semi-finals.
He said he was a bit fortunate to emerge winner in his quarter-final game as the quality of opponents at the tournament was commendable.
“The quality of opponents is pretty good. I have played almost all the quality opponents in this tournament and I can testify that they are pretty good.
“I was fortunate to emerge winner today, but it is not easy to go out there in the harsh conditions and be at your best all the time. It doesn’t mean that my opponent was not good.”
Kadhe also commended the organisers for putting together a perfect tournament: “The facilities are really nice. The organisation is nice and the people always offer the players assistance.
“They always try to help and make us comfortable. I’m enjoying myself here in Nigeria,” he stated.(NAN)
KIA/ERO/OLAL
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(Edited by Emmanuel Okara and Olawale Alabi)