The performance of Sylvia Chidera Oreigbemileke Okafor, a Netherlands-based Nigerian player, in the ongoing 17th Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship is a source of pride to her parents.
Mr and Mrs Ogochukwu Okafor traveled all the way from Amsterdam with their 17 years old daughter for the ITF Pro-Circuit tournament in their country of birth.
“We are here to give our parental support to our daughter who is playing her first bigger tournament in Lagos. Honestly, the experience she would get here is very crucial to her career development notwithstanding that she lost her match, ” the father said at the lounge of the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.
Okafor, who started playing tennis when she was five, played in the Women’s Doubles of Futures 4 of the Governor’s Cup where she paired with another local girl, Sarah Adegoke. Although, they were beaten in the first round by the pair of Conny Perrin of Switzerland and Valeriya Strakhova of Ukraine, the result was secondary to the parents as she also lost her singles match against Melanie Klaffner from Austria at the same stage of the Main Draws.
“That she lost the match was not what we were after as the parents, but the exposure playing with top players here in Lagos is what we want her to take. It’s our belief that going on now she must have improved on her game,” he said.
Mr Okafor paid glowing tribute to an Amsterdam based foundation, Sjtaz Foundation, for making it possible for their daughter to make the Governor’s Cup, and he was also full of praises for the Nigeria Tennis Federation for giving her daughter a wild card to feature in the second leg of the tournament. “This is a rare privileged which we are grateful for,” Mr Okafor said.
Meanwhile, rain disrupted Wednesday’s proceedings as matches scheduled for the day were shifted.