Rebecca Ekpeyong wins Chevron Title over national junior champion Omolayo Bamidele of the South West in the finals of the Chevron Junior Invitational Masters, she is representing the South-South zone.
The petite 16-year-old had saved two match points in an emotional 9-8 victory against second seed Omolade Aderemi (South West) on Saturday but she had no such problems against the No.1 seed as she won nine straight points in the first match tie-break set before her opponent could win one.
Bamidele staged a comeback in the second set but the confident hitting and smart placement from Ekpeyong completely confounded her.
The Port Harcourt-based girl won 10-1, 10-4 to the delight of her teary-eyed father, Peter, who ran to the court to embrace his daughter.
Ekpeyong also won the trophy for the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament.
The boys’ and girls’ 12s and the girls’ 16s matches were reduced to three match tie-break sets to allow all finalists to display their skills.
The Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria, Jeff Ewing, said in his closing remarks that Chevron was very happy to see the impact of their investment in Nigerian youths, with the amazing talents that were on display at the finals.
Ewing, who was represented by Sanjay Narasimha, also commended the International Tennis Academy for a well-run programme.
