Even though he will be ending year 2017 as Nigeria’s number one tennis player, Joseph Imeh did not win any of the national tournaments; but he is not even perturbed by this unenviable feat.
The former junior star player who was a delight to watch all year, lost in the finals of the CBN Open, Dala Hard Court Championship and the inaugural edition of the Rainoil Tennis Championship even though he was almost a fans’ favourite to win all three competitions.
And even after working so hard to reach the finals of the NCC Tennis league with his Team Muller counterparts, Imeh still lost the final with his teammates to a ruthless Team Civil Defence. But he is unfazed by all the losses.
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| Joseph Imeh is already looking forward to the new tennis season with so much positivity. |
In an exclusive chat with Nigerian Tennis Live, the player adjudged the most outstanding at the NCC Tennis League, noted that even though he was gutted by not winning any of the national championships, he believes that getting to the finals shows that he has grown and only needs to do more.
“I have just been unlucky with the finals, that’s what I believe.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to say about losing all those finals, what I think is maybe I need to put in more work, and when I get to another final, I’ll simply have to push myself even further,” he told our correspondent.
Asked if there’s something he thinks he is not doing that is making him lose in finals, the 2017 Rainoil Tennis Masters champion explained that: “I haven’t figured that out, really. I still feel it has been down to hard luck. I also think I need to do more work.”
He also explained how he intends to kick start his 2018, as he hopes to bounce back from the disappointing defeats.
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| Imeh’s performance at the 2017 NCC Tennis League earned him the Most Outstanding Player award. |
According to him: “I intend to leave the country for some part of 2018 to do some serious work on my tennis, hopefully I can get better.
“My target is to be ranked among the top 100 players in the world and remain as Nigeria’s number one player. I believe this is really achievable if I keep working really hard and avoid injuries.”
Nigerian tennis followers will be keen to see the player’s performance in 2018 and how he will bounce back from the disappointment of losing out when it mattered most in 2017.
Nigerian Tennis Live will monitor the player’s progress and update our readers with the latest from his tournaments.