25th October, 2010
Sunday Emmanuel, who was defeated by Boy Westerhof of Holland in the first leg of the on going Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis spoke about his performance with SUNDAY AKINTOYE
You lost to Boy Westerhof of Holland, 7-5, 6-4 in the first leg, what went wrong?
It was a tough and good game for me. I almost won the game but loss of  concentration cost my defeat. I am happy that despite my defeat, Nigerians still commended my performance.
Are you not disappointed that you let Nigerians down after you were tipped to go far in this year’s tournament?
I am not disappointed with my performance. Although, many Nigerians want me to win the game but my opponent played well, but the better side won the game at the end of the day.
Does that mean you have accepted that Westerhof is better than you?
Of course. I want to perform well in the second leg. Honestly, Westerhof is a good player, may be next year, if we meet again, I will beat him.
You still have another chance to play in the second leg, how are you preparing for your next game?
I have realised my mistake in the first leg and believe that there is need for me to intensify my training so as to do well in the second leg.
After this competition, are you planning for another championship?
I may go to Holland for a tournament. But for now, I want to concentrate on the Governor’s Cup.
How do you see the performance of Nigerian players in this year’s Governor’s Cup?
It was not too good because some of us played below expectations. But you cannot blame Nigerian players because there are many factors that contributed to our poor run. It is sad that the game of tennis is not taken serious in this country compared to other games.
What is the way forward?
The way forward is to let the corporate bodies sponsor our local tennis players to some international competitions so that they will get international exposure and compete with foreign players.
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