19th October, 2010
Former Nigerian international, Thompson Onibokun, does not expect much from the local players featuring in the 10th Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship.
The Main Draws of the first leg of Etisalat/FCMB tennis tournament served off yesterday at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.
Onibokun, who is the Chairman of the Technical Committee of the championship, told Tennis Special that he did not expect an outstanding performance from Nigerian players in the tourney this year.
According to him, the draws of the first round released by the tournament’s referee, Anton Rens, showed that things will be hard for the inexperienced local players during the competition.
“All the players taking part in the competition should ordinarily expect tough oppositions, but won’t find it easywith Nigerian players,†said Onibokun.
“I heard that Nigerian players were camped ahead of this competition. This would have prepared them for the tourney. But the general impression is that local players were not trained long enough to match the foreign stars featuring in the Governor’s Cup from all over the world.
“You cannot compare the local players to the foreigners who are coming to Lagos right from other competitions. These players are playing circuits around the world and you cannot imagine the form such players will take into the competition,†he said.
Onibokun thinks this year’s competition won’t be different from the previous editions, where the local players played second fiddle to the foreign stars.
“This is not an ideal situation, but this is the reality. It would be the same old story because I do not see our players making much impact in the tourney,†said Onibokun.
However, he added that it would be too early to predict a resounding performance of the local players in the tourney.
“The Main Draws just started. I believe by the end of the first week, we’ll be able to discuss more on that. All I know is that there may be some surprises as the tourney progresses,†he said.
He also commented on the standard of the tourney over the years, saying it improves every year.
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