Seventeen-year-old Oyinlomo Quadre said that she was hopeful of retaining the women’s singles title at the ongoing 42nd Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Senior Open Tennis tournament.
Quadre, who has qualified for the Round of 16 after beating wildcarded Serena Teluwo 6-0, 6-0, said this in an interview with the NAN on Tuesday in Abuja.
Africa’s Junior number two player said she was supposed to go back to Morocco but couldn’t miss the opportunity of tennis action.
Quadre who was excited on the return of sporting activities said she has been in Nigeria since March to compete at the National Sports Festival but got stuck.
“I was supposed to go back to Morocco this month but then, I couldn’t miss this chance of participating in a competition after a long time and I wanted to play in my home country.
“My expectations here are high. I’m excited that the organisers have increased the prize money from the first round to the third round.
“This is because there are so many players here who do this for a living. They come here and pay for all their logistics but take almost nothing home.
“It’s great to see that (improvement in prize money) happen and above all, I’m here to defend my title and win the doubles as well,” she said.
The defending champion who is undergoing training at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) center in Casablanca, said consistency has been key to her success.
“Consistency has been key to my success so far. I won about four tournaments in a row last year and all because of my training.
“I train five hours per day and still combine it with the school. It’s easier for me in Morocco than in Nigeria because I have a schedule.
“There is no magic around it. Most people in Nigeria are not consistent, but I can understand that it is not easy for them especially without motivation and sponsorship,’’ he said.
The player is ranked number one in Nigeria as at December 2019 and has amassed 850 points compared to second-ranked Christie Agugbom`s 350 points.
