A renowned sports philanthropist Mallam Aminu Kurfi has said that the country has the potentials of producing world class tennis stars in the ranks of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Kurfi, who stated this in a chat with Trustsports, however said the present effort to raise the standard of the game in the country and raise such stars would be a mirage if adequate attention is not paid to talent discovery, grooming and exposure.

Kurfi, who has also sponsored football competitions in the past, noted that there are abundant talents in the country that require is quality facilities to train and little technical push to reach their zenith in the sport.

"Everywhere you go to in this country you find talents in various sports. Take lawn tennis for instance. There are several promising players. What they lack is proper technical nurturing; the facility to train and this must be adequate.

"I am convinced that we can produce great tennis players in this country. I am also of the view that the efforts of the Nigeria Tennis Federation should be complemented because the federation relies on the government for funding.

"If those in the private would identify with them through sponsorship of events or even sponsoring identified tennis prospects to some training exercises abroad, I think it would go a long way to assist these talents properly horn their skills," he stated.