Bunmi Ogunyale
Nigerian youngster, Oyinlomo Quadri has been sent packing from the on-going Lagos Open Tennis Championship.
Quadri lost to Ukrainian Valeriya Strakhova by 6-2, 6-3 straight sets at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan on Wednesday.
In a post match chat, Quadri said: “It was a very good match and I played very well. She is way ahead of me as a professional.
I’m still an amateur at the senior level. I was playing amazingly well and I don’t think there’s anything wrong the techniques but I will say she is a better player mentally because she was able to get the important points.
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“So mentally, she was a professional and has gotten used to this kind of situation. It was a good match and I learnt so much today.
“I went into the match without any fear, I went in with so much confidence and ready to fight, ignoring the fact that my opponent is the number three seed in the tournament or she is world number 200.
I just kept going. It wasn’t that I couldn’t hit the ball or that I couldn’t return the serves, the stroke, it was just a mental thing and that’s very important in tennis. I hope I can improve in that area.”
In other games that decided yesterday, Arthur Rinderknech of France thrashed Spain’s Hugo Largo 6-3,6-2, Indian’s Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha defeated Alexis Klegou from Benin by 7-6,4-6,6-3, Tom Jomby beats USA’s Tyler Lu 7-6(4), 6-2, Jack Draper of Great Britain outstroked South African Lance-Pierre DU TOIT 6-2,6-2, Aryan Goveas beats Diego Matos 6-3 (rtd)
In other games, Zimbabwean Benjamin Lock beats Tunisia’s Aziz Ouakaa 6-4,6-3, Danylo Kalenchenko from Ukraine pummeled Arnaud Sewanou 6-1,6-0, Tereza Mihalikova beats South African Zoe Kruger 6-2,6-3, Nastja Kolar Merel Hoedt 6-3,6-1, Conny Perrin defeated Clothilde De Bernardi 6-1,3-6,6-2, just as Estelle Cascino dumped out Claudia Coppola 6-1,1-0 (rtd).