Sylvester Emmanuel, Nigeria’s number one male tennis player, has sent a message to Engr. Ifedayo Akindoju, the newly-installed president of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF).
The Barcelona, Spain-based tennis star stated in an exclusive interview with Naija Tennis Special, that he was excited about the emergence of Akindoju as the new NTF president because he believes the man is one who can help Nigerian tennis grow.
According to the former junior champion, the newly-inaugurated chairman is one whom he believes has great passion for the sport in the country and with his new position, will bring the desired change to the racquet game.
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| Sylvester Emmanuel believes the new NTF president will take Nigerian tennis to greater heights. |
“I think he’s going to help the tennis in Nigeria grow. Because I believe that’s why he wanted to be the president of the tennis federation,” Sylvester stated.
Asked what he thinks about the possibility of having tennis challenger in the country come 2018, the team lead of the NCC Tennis League defending champions noted that he is looking forward to the tournament already.
“I think it will see the light of the day and it will further help our tennis grow, as well as the individual players.
“Good players will definitely participate in the tournament and as long as you get to play against the very best, you’ll learn from them and also play good matches,” he added.
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| Sylvester Emmanuel was the brain behind his team’s unprecedented performance at the NCC Tennis League last year. |
The NCC Tennis League will officially kick off this weekend, and Sylvester’s team, Team Offikwu, is among the teams that will feature, but he is not likely to start off the tennis league with them.
He, however, has a message for his colleagues. He said: “It’s a pity I will not be able to start off the defence of the title with the guys, but I shall return to the country to play with the team when we qualify out of the group.
“I want them all to know that I am giving all my support from here and I strongly believe that we will get out of the group.
“All they have to do is to take everything step by step, stay positive and believe that we can do it.”