Zimbabwean fourth seed, Takanyi Garaganga was the major casualty of the second round at the Tombim Open in Abuja on Wednesday following a 6-3, 6-4 defeat by Stephan Gerritsen of the Netherlands.
Garaganga has been one of the frequent participants at the ITF pro circuit tournaments in the Nigerian capital and has a strong fan base among the locals but there was not much he could do to stop his European opponent, who came into the main draw from the qualifying rounds.
There was no such problem for top seed, Markus Eriksson of Sweden as he scaled the hurdle of Alexis Klogou of Benin although he had to dig deep to bag a 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 win in a match that lasted 2hours 45 minutes.
Garanganga (far right) will not have a podium place finish at the Tombim Open in Abuja.
Austrian second seed, Maximiliano Neuchrist also joined the quarterfinal train with a commanding 6-2, 6-3 win over Dalwinder Singh of India same for Tuki Jacob, a Namibian wild card beneficiary, who secured a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Frenchman Remi Boutillier.
Danylo Kalenichenko of Ukraine also advanced by beating Dalwinder Singh of India 6-4, 6-3 while Jelle Sels, the fifth seed from the Netherlands, also progressed with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Indian Karunuday Singh. Another Indian was at the receiving end of a defeat as Aryan Goveas bowed to Brazilian seventh seed, Joao Menezes 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The quarterfinals scheduled for Thursday will see Eriksson battles Sels while Neuchrist confronts Menezes. Jacobs keeps a date with Kalenichenko and Gerritsen faces the winner of the clash between Jaime Angel of France and Ronnie Schneider of the USA, the sixth seed.
In the doubles, Thomas Setodji of France paired Klegou to qualify for the semifinals by beating Croatian brothers, Ivan and Matej Sabanov 6-4, 6-4 while Boutillier partners his countryman Tom Jomby to beat the team of Nigeria’s Sylvester Emmanuel and Jacobs 6-3, 6-2.
Eriksson and Neuchrist also moved to the semifinal after they defeated Kalenichenko and Franko Feitt of Argentina 4-6, 6-3, 10-5.
