NAMIBIA’S top-ranked tennis player Tukhula Jacobs is making steady progress after recently competing in several International Tennis Federation tournaments in Nigeria and Ghana where he had limited success.
On 9 April he competed at an ITF tournament in Abuja, Nigeria where he lost 6-0, 7-5 to Gilbert Klier Junior of Brazil in the first round. Klier Junior is one of the world’s top up and coming young players and was ranked 10th in the world in the under 18 category last year.
“I had a slow start in the first set, but I fought back well in the second set. I had a double break point and a great chance to win the second set but I was unable to close it out and missed my opportunity,” Jacobs said.
In the doubles category, Jacobs was also eliminated in the first round with his partner Guy Orly Irakunda of Burundi.
A week later Jacobs competed in a second tournament in Abuja and was once again eliminated in the first round.
This time he was drawn against the top seed, Maximilian Neuchrist from Austria, who was last year ranked among the top 300 players in the world.
Jacobs gave a steady performance, but in the end Neuchrist won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
“It was a tough match against a very good player and I certainly learnt a lot,” Jacobs said.
In doubles, he partnered Hugo Largo of Spain but they also lost in the first round.
On 22 April, Jacobs competed at a third tournament in Abuja and this time he managed to progress to the second round after beating Dominik Palan of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4 in the first round.
“The previous week Palan had defeated the third seed Arjun Kadhe from India who is currently ranked 391 in the world, so that was a very good win for me,” Jacobs said.
In the second round, though, Jacobs once again came up against the top seed, Sadio Doumbia from France and lost the match 6-2, 4-0 after withdrawing due to heat stroke in the second set.
Jacobs’ best performance came in Accra, Ghana at the beginning of May, when he reached the quarterfinals.
In the first round he beat Courtney Lock of Zimbabwe in a close three-setter, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6, and then beat Italy’s Andrea Bessire 7-5, 6-1 in the second round.
In the quarterfinals he, however, once again withdrew due to injury after trailing 6-4, 3-0 to Mehluli Zibanda of Zimbabwe.
“Overall, it was a good trip that progressed and got better every single week. Now I will be going back to train and prepare for the next couple upcoming tournaments in Ukraine at the end of May,” Jacobs said.
“The injury is nothing serious. It just a minor strain that players experience from time to time due to excessive play, and I just need to rest a bit,” he added.
The 24-year-old Jacobs is currently ranked 777 in the world and although there is still a long way to go, he is determined to reach the top.
“My goal is to be ranked within the top 100 in the world where I can compete and represent Namibia at all four Grand Slams as well as the Olympics, if not in Tokyo next year, then at Paris in 2024. Tennis is a very slow process and the higher level you reach, the slower the growth process becomes, so it’s important be patient, to keep working hard and to stay focussed each day and then everything will come on its own time,” he said.
“I want to put Namibia on the world map and I want to show the world that Namibian tennis has the potential to compete at the top events,” he added.
