Davis Cup: Abua, Bennani to open World Group II tie

Nigeria’s Canice Abua will face Morocco’s Karim Bennani in the opening singles rubber of the Davis Cup World Group II tie in Rabat on Saturday (today), PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The pairings were confirmed at the official draw held at the Conference Hall of the Union Sportive des Cheminots de Tennis du Maroc, the venue for the September 19 and 20 tie.

Nigeria Tennis Federation vice-president, Datti Yusuf, represented the country, while officials of the International Tennis Federation were also present. A meet-and-greet involving players, coaches and officials from both teams preceded the draw.

Abua, Nigeria’s number one, will open against Bennani before Daniel Adeleye takes on Yassine Dlimi in the second singles. Sunday’s action will begin with the doubles, where Michael Emmanuel and Yusuf Abubakar will meet Younes Lalami and Dlimi.

Adeleye will then face Bennani in the reverse singles, before Abua meets Dlimi in the fifth and potentially decisive rubber.

All five matches will be played as best-of-three tie-break sets on clay.

The winner in Rabat will advance to the 2027 World Group I Play-offs, while the losing side will remain in World Group II.

Nigeria are seeking a first Davis Cup victory over Morocco after losing all four previous meetings since 1973. Led by head coach Benson Ishicheli, the team arrived in Rabat on Monday after a training camp in Lagos.

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“From history, where we are going, when they lose, they are a bit hostile, so we are preparing for that kind of situation. At the same time, we want to go there and break the jinx. We are at 0-4, and we want to make it 4-1,” Ishicheli said.

Nigeria earned promotion to World Group II for the first time in 30 years after beating Uzbekistan 3-1 at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan, in February. Morocco dropped into the group after losing to Colombia in the World Group I play-off in Casablanca.

Adeleye, ranked second in Nigeria, who sealed the win over Uzbekistan, said the hostile crowd would not faze him.

“There is no pressure. As I always say, enjoy the moment. It’s not my first time in Morocco, so I really enjoy it when I play, and people are against me. Every point is important,” he told Nigerian journalist Biola-Solace Chukwu.

Emmanuel, the third-ranked player, who partnered Abua in the doubles against Uzbekistan, said the team was motivated to build on that result.

“It has been our dream to put Nigerian tennis at the top. We want to go there and win. We are motivated to get the win and stay top,” he said.