Coach Benson Ishicheli has hailed Nigeria’s performance at the ongoing Davis Cup World Team Championship presently going on in Egypt.
The captain of the Nigerian contingent to the North African stated in a brief chat with Naija Tennis Special, that the players put in their best in spite of the late preparations that trailed their attendance.
According to him, the players were at their very best in their first two matches, even though they both resulted in losses for the team.
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| Sylvester Emmanuel at the Nigerian corner in Egypt during the Davis Cup tournament. |
In the first match, host Egypt defeated Nigeria in the three games – two singles and one doubles – even though it was not an easy ride for them (Egypt), while Zimbabwe won two games – one singles and one doubles – while Nigeria picked one of the singles encounter.
Sylvester Emmanuel created a stir after defeating Takanyi Garanganga, a top 400 Zimbabwean player, but was unable to inspire his team to a doubles victory over their East African counterparts.
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| Abdulmumuni Babalola prepping to take on his counterpart in Egypt. |
After the match, Coach Benson told Naija Tennis Special that he was honestly proud and “happy with the boys’ performance.
“Despite the odds, we came here due to the last minute intervention of our new (NTF) president.
“The boys were ready to reward him with a promotion to Group 2. We played that deciding match till a few minutes to 12am.
“If you were here, you would be proud to be a Nigerian.”