by Emeka Obasi
Professor Sadiq Abdullahi was one of the kings of Nigerian tennis courts in the 1980s. In those good old days, there were as many tournaments as there were stars. Top players from around the globe were visible in the country.
Abdullahi is a complete homeboy and is driving a huge project to bring tennis back to life. Then Michael Mmoh happened. Suddenly that feeling of yore when Nduka Odizor, David Imonitie, Tony Mmoh and Sadiq reigned, crept back.
Michael Mmoh was largely unknown in Nigeria until he sent Number 12 seed, Alexander Zverev of Germany packing in the Second Round of the Australian Open.
Mmoh is the son of Tony Mmoh. His spectacular show in Melbourne brought hope alive. Sadiq’s Tennis Vision 2035 is about to take off and the University of Florida teacher is not looking back.
Tennis Vision 2035 is all about taking the game from the grassroots to the top. It is a programme built around education with the aim of pushing out future stars. Sadiq is partnering with former soccer international, Chief Segun Odegbami.
Honestly, Mmoh has come out at the right time. Soccer loving Nigerians have given up on the Super Eagles whose best has sent many heart attack cases to the hospital bed.
Anything outside soccer is good news. Tobi Amusan has become the face of sports, after her splendid run at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The first Nigerian champion in Athletics also retained her Commonwealth 400 metres Hurdles gold.
I did not know much about Tony Mmoh until Sadiq reminded me last year after I did a story on Nigerians representing other countries at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The veteran tennis star said : ” In other sports like Tennis, Michael Mmoh had the opportunity to represent Saudi Arabia and Nigeria but chose USA. This is an area we need to explore. It will help our overall efforts to raise the standard of sports in our country.”
Sadiq has been in contact with government and politicians. He believes sports should be used to keep the younger generation away from temptation especially now that insecurity has become a colossal threat.
In soccer, it is easy to identify with Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Peter Rufai and Daniel Amokachi. Tennis does not have that luxury. Nduka Odizor may be largely unknown because his Wimbledon show happened forty years ago.
Odizor, proudly called The Duke, got to the quarter finals of Wimbledon in 1983. He made headlines for eliminating Number 4 seed Guillermo Villas of Argentina. In 1984, the Nigerian was ranked No. 52 in the world. Till date, no compatriot has done better than that.
Sadiq was at the Seoul ’88 Olympic Games and 1989 American Open. Mmoh Senior took part in the US Open in 1985, Wimbledon, 1985 and French Open in 1988.
I wondered if Tony Mmoh ever graced the Australian Open as a player. Sadiq was there to convince me that Mmoh played in the men’s doubles with Odizor.
Michael Mmoh’s mother, Geraldine O Reilly was born in Ireland but is also Australian. The Aussie luck is following the young man. He had beaten a different Zverev, (Mischa) at the Brisbane International tournament in 2018, in his first career ATP appearance.
At the 2020 Australian Open, Mmoh recorded his first main draw victory. In 2021, the man that beat him, Rafael Nadal, is one of the faces of modern tennis, so there was everything to be proud of.
Tony Mmoh was ranked 105 in the world. His son is ranked 107 but has more active years ahead. Chief Benson Ezeibe, a popular Tennis sponsor believes the younger Mmoh will hit the 40 bracket in future.
Mmoh Senior played good football, enough to be invited by the Socceroos. He chose Tennis and that gave him a wife in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. There, Michael was born in 1998.
I am sure he will follow his dad back to Enugu someday. His presence will lift Sadiq’s Tennis Vision 2035. The younger ones will use him as reference point any time they train.
