The 2015 Africa Junior Tennis Championship will serve off tomorrow in Tunis with no fewer than three Nigerian players scheduled to be in action.
National junior tennis coach Mohammed Ubale, who is the leader of the nine-man team that included eight players, admitted that the Nigerian players will have to put up an optimum performance if they are to finish in the medal zone due to the pedigree of countries that are featuring in the clay court tournament.
The draws for the matches are due to be made late Tuesday (today) and Ubale while speaking form the North African country said the quality of players from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Egypt Tunisia among others means that victory will not be achieved on a platter of gold by the Nigerian players who dominated the West & Central African championship held in Togo in January.
“The AJC is a gathering of the best junior players on the continent and while Nigeria has been the undisputed leading nation in the West and Central Africa Zone which consists of about 16 countries, the high standard of players from across Africa means we have to be at our best to make a meaningful impact here in Tunisia.
Ubale however expressed confidence in the form of Oyinlomo Quadri, who accounted for two of Nigeria’s eight gold medals at the qualifier in Lome.
“Oyin is in great form and also is McCleod who has kept improving since she shifted her base from Dubai to Lagos last year.
“The players just need to push a bit further and also have the belief that they can compete among the best at this level. If they play up to their potentials they will go as far as reaching the medals zone,” Ubale submitted.
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