By Jacob Ajom
The Nigeria-Ghana rivalry was rekindled at the weekend in Lagos when the Accra Tennis Club visited Ikoyi Club 1938 Tennis section for the 2009 Nigeria-Ghana International Tennis Tournament.
True to tradition, the host club won the series with a 10-7 margin, overall. The visitors won the last edition which they hosted in Accra last year.
Top seed, Bimbo Okubena led Ikoyi Club to victory in the singles as he dismissed Eric Douna of Accra Tennis club in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
Prince Walter Eze also had the upper hand over Patrick Bankah with a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
In the super veterans category, Godwin Kienka overwhelmed Accra’s Peter Annan in straight sets just as Edet Akpaso dismissed Njii Botchway
The Ghanaian ladies were up in arms against their Nigerian counterparts. Julie Shawn beat Coleman Smith 6-1, 6-2 while Clara Falase lost to Abi Odoi of Ghana.
Chairman of the Tennis section Ikoyi Club 1938, Chike Orjiakor said the event was a monumental success as everything went according to plan.
Captain of the Accra Tennis Club, Charles Sagoe said, “it was a terrific event. We are happy to experience this friendliness. We feel grateful to our hosts.â€
The Ghanaian, however, said that countries in the ECOWAS sub-region must do something more concrete about free movement of citizens across the borders. “That is where the problem is.â€