Nigeria’s young tennis prodigy, Sylvester Emmanuel, has set a tall dream for himself in the New Year as the youngster wants to play in more senior championships.
The Men’s Singles Winner of the 2014 Ikoyi Tennis Masters in Lagos, told Naija Tennis Special that he wants to step up from the junior category as he sees himself as a worthy competitor in the senior tournaments.
 |
| Michael Moses (2nd from left), wants to dwell more on the Circuits this year |
In a chat with this medium over the weekend, the Switzerland-based younger sibling of Sunday Emmanuel- Nigeria’s former number one player- stated that, “I will not play junior tournaments anymore because I believe it’s time to compete with the big boys.
“My performance last year showed me that there’s nothing one cannot achieve and I must tell you that I really surprised myself with the way I played.
“It was the best year every for me, and to have defeated Shehu Lawal- someone I watched while growing up- in that final at the Ikoyi Tennis Masters goes a long way to state how much I have improved. But I want to go even further this year.”
Speaking also on his aspirations for the New Year was Michael Moses, who won the 14th edition of the Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship last year.
Moses believes that 2015 is the year that he will get into the world rankings as he wants to play more on the Circuit in the New Year.
The Togo ITF Circuit Doubles Quarter-finalist disclosed that, “I have vowed to work harder this year, especially on those areas where I made expensive and costly mistakes which almost cost me some matches.
“This year, my aim is to play more on the Circuit and garner more points on the ATP. I know it may not be that easy, but I will give it my best shot.
“The experience we had in Togo will also help me a lot as I try and work towards becoming a much improved player.”
The Nigerian players are likely to have a long break before they get to play their first national tourney of the year, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Senior Tennis Open.