Uche Oparaoji, the number eight seed at the ongoing Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Senior Tennis Open Championship, has expressed his delight after qualifying for the quarter final stage of the competition for the first time ever.
Oparaoji defeated Iloputa Ikechukwu - who is regarded and addressed by close friends as the Nigerian Isner - in a three set thriller, winning 6-7 (6), 6-3, 4-0 (rtd.) to reach his first quarter finals at the CBN Open after four attempts.
Oparaoji will play the quarter finals of the CBN Open for the first time ever.
In a chat with Nigerian Tennis Live, the player expressed his joy at defeating such a tough player, adding that he was so excited about the win seeing that he had been fighting so hard to reach this stage at the CBN Open for so many years without recording any success.
"I made it into CBN quarter final. I am so happy," he told our correspondent after the match on Wednesday.
Action resumes at the 40th edition of the CBN Open championship on Thursday as the race for the N700k prize money still rages on.
The CBN Open which kicked off on Monday, 25 June, will reach its climax on Saturday, 30 June, inside the tennis section of the National Stadium in Abuja.
