Alex Akinwale would lead other players at the 2013 Governor’s Cup Tennis Championship which would be featuring wheelchair tennis for the first time between October 13 to 27 at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club.

The wheelchair tennis athlete who unveiled himself at the US Open this year will have the honor of showcasing at the 13^th edition of Governor’s Cup which is one of the top-rated ITF-sanctioned programmes in Africa.

Adewale, who reached the second round at Flushing Meadows last month, has been one of the most consistent players in Africa enjoying a top-10 rankings and he will face challenges from Wasiu Yusuf, Jude Uwaize and Lateef Shodipo for the top prize.

According to the President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation, Sani Ndanusa, who is also an ITF-Wheelchair Tennis Developmental Committee member, the championship will help enhance Nigeria’s growing profile in wheelchair tennis having featured in two successive World Cup finals, the last of which was in Antalya, Turkey in May.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Shuichi Sekigushi, who is rated as world’s number 265 by the ATP, will lead the foreign legion of players that will compete at the main event of the $80, 000 prize-money championship.

The women’s singles will have Slovakia’s Tadeja Majeric, who is rated at 123 by the WTA, as the tournament’s top-seed for the tournament which has Etisalat and FCMB as major sponsors.

Nigeria will feature more than 40 players in the two-phase championship with the top-ten ranked players fine-tuning their skills at the National Institute for Sports where they have been in close camping.