Engr. Sani Ndanusa, president of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) has hailed Nigerians’ performance after the Futures 3 of the ongoing Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship.
Nigeria’s hopeful of getting a shot at a trophy, Christian Paul, was crushed by semi-finalist Lloyd Harris in straight sets of 6-1, 6-0, a situation which tennis followers believe may have dampened the local players’ spirits.
But Ndanusa, a former National Olympic Committee (NOC) president, believes that the players have done really well during the first week of the championship with their performance which he has hinged on the newly-introduced National Communications Commission (NCC) Tennis League.
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| Engr Sani Ndanusa, president of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) |
According to him, the players looked fitter than their previous outing and this was evident in their display “I believe the player can only get better,” he added.
He stated further that, “I had said it before the tournament began that the NCC League was a good spring board for the players to perform excellently during the Governor’s Cup and they have proven me right.
“They have surpassed our performance in the previous tournament and I believe that the second leg will be even better.”
While reiterating the federation’s support for the players, the NTF boss informed that players would now be identified and sent on African Circuits through sponsors which they (NTF) will source for as well, in order to make them get better and meet up with their foreign counterparts.
“When they attend these tournaments, they will get even better and be at par with their foreign colleagues who travel round the clock.
“I can assure you that our players will soon be better than their foreign counterparts if they keep attending these circuits which we are looking at introducing them to as the years go by,” the former Sports Minister said.