Dairo blames poor play on exposure

LAGOS - Toyin Dairo, Nigeria’s Davis Cup player Monday appraised the effect of the ITF Futures tennis on the game in the country and says: “It is good for the game in Nigeria. It will help the development of tennis in this country.” In this exclusive interview with nigeriasports.com Dairo also speaks on the 26th CBN Senior Tennis Opens Championships which starts next Saturday in Lagos. Nigeriasports.com: What is your aspiration for the next CBN seniors which starts Saturday immediately following the ITF Futures? Toyin Dairo: My hope, aspiration and aim is to win at the CBN Opens. Nigeriasports.com: No Nigerian player made it beyond the quarter-finals at last week’s Futures2. What could be responsible for the poor performance recorded by the country’s players? Dairo: I think it was a good report card that any Nigerian player reached the quarter-finals. The poor performance of Nigerians could be attributed to our low level exposure. Nigeriasports.com: What is the problem of Nigerian tennis? Dairo: I should say we need more exposure. We need to play more tournaments. We need more sponsors in the game and also investment on the players. We need to go out and play tournaments. It’s not just enough to sit down at home and play ITF Futures and expect to win. All these other players who came here from their countries in Europe and North America are more exposed than us. They play frequently, so it is no longer strange for them to play games. I believe if there is corporate sponsorship of the game in Nigeria, we would improve in our game. By Julie Anyanwu
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