Soothing words have come the way of Joseph Imeh after losing his second major national championship final at a time when many thought he stood a chance of finally winning, Nigerian Tennis Live reports.
The former junior star, who grew through the ranks, winning Junior ITF Circuits back to back, and has started gaining national recognition for his consistent performance in the NCC Tennis League where he has led his Team, Muller, to the final of the competition as well as his display on the circuit, lost the Dala Hard Court championship to Thomas Otu 5-7, 4-6 in Kano.
Nigerian Tennis Live observed that after the loss, a lot of people expressed mixed feelings about the result, even as he was the number two seed of the tournament and had been ruthless throughout the tournament, with some saying Otu was a better player on the day and deserved to win.
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| Coach Abel believes that his former ward will without fail, become a national champion and explode internationally too. |
But his former coach, Abel Ubiebi, who knows the player better, expressed great optimism about his former ward’s ability to weather every storm to still emerge as not just a national champion, but also as an international star in the nearest future.
Ubiebi, who had tipped the losing CBN Open finalist to win the duel, wrote afterwards: “It is only a matter of time, this boy (Imeh) will still win national championships and even go international to make more statements.”
These words coming from Imeh’s former coach and trainer should come as a relief to the player who seems quite determined to write his name on the sands of time as one of the greatest tennis players from this part of the world.
He has the chance to still end the year on a high if he can lead his Team Muller to winning the NCC Tennis League and emerge as the winner of the inaugural Rainoil Tennis Open Tournament; both of which are coming up in December.