Nigeria’s foremost Wheelchair tennis player, Alex Adewale defeated South Africa’s Alwande Sikhosana 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the semifinals of the Nairobi Open tour ranking meet.
The 30-year-old, who finished as a runner-up last year, will be looking to reach back-to-back finals at the clay-court event as he played top seed, Evans Maripa of South Africa in the semifinal.
Maripa and Adewale have met thrice in the past, with the South African holding a 3-0 head-to-head lead, which includes a straight-sets victory in the final of this event last year.
The Nigerian is ranked 121 on Tennis Tour Rankings (ranked 121) while Wasiu Yusuf who is ranked 126 both got a walkover in the first round.
It was however sad tale for Yusuf who lost in his quarter-final encounter against Lhaj Boukartacha, the third seed from Morocco.
The 41-year-old Nigerian, was bidding to equal his semifinal run here in 2019, but was edged 6-3, 6-3 by the Moroccan.
However, Yusuf will be on doubles duty on Wednesday, alongside Adewale.
The Nigerian duo are the doubles defending champion after their victory last year, and will look to stay on course for a successful title-defense, when they square off against the Egyptian pair of Mohamed Abdel hafez and Hassan Emad.
Their performance at the tournament may enhance their chances of participating at the Paralympics Games in Japan next September.
