All hopes of Nigeria’s Sylvester Emmanuel to get into the Main Draw at the ongoing ITF Pro Circuit tournament in Tunisia were dashed after an ankle injury forced him to retire in his third qualifying match against France’s Amaury Delmas.
The match which took place on Monday, 17 September, was the last in the series of qualifiers for the Nigerian star, and he would have fought hard for a place in the Main Draw before the injury got the better of him.
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| Sylvester Emmanuel in action before injury to his ankle slowed down his pace. |
Delmas had won the first set 7-5 and was cruising 3-0 in the second set before the Nigerian gave up and had to seek treatment on his ankle which was beginning to ache.
Recall that the player had defeated Italian and French opponents in the first two qualifying matches before setting up an encounter with another French opposition. A development which would later ebd his participation in the first leg of the ITF Futures.
In a brief chat with Nigerian Tennis Live, the Nigerian number two player noted that he had to retire to treat the injury so that it doesn’t get worse.
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| An image of Sylvester’s right leg after the injury to his ankle on Monday. He posted it on his Instagram story. |
He said: “I was injured that was why I retired. My right ankle was injured.
“I’m hoping I should be fine before the second leg.”
Nigerian Tennis Live will keep tabs on the prolific player and share updates from his performance when next he plays.