Buzzing Nigerian tennis sensation, Oyinlomo Quadre, will have revenge on one side of her mind when she takes on Valeriya Strakhova, the tournament’s number two seed, in their quarterfinal match today.
But the youngster could also become the first Nigerian player to play in the semifinal of the competition in about ten years.
Quadre had lost in the second round of the 2018 edition to the Ukrainian star but the Nigerian has since improved in her ranking and status in Nigeria and Africa which puts her in the pole position to cause an unprecedented upset.
Speaking about how she won her quarterfinal match against Tamara Curovic, the Serbian number eight seed, the Nigerian teenager said that it was not what she expected, but she qualified nonetheless.
According to her: “She had sort of started crying since the game was 3-2, and kept complaining on the court.
“The umpire asked if she needed medical attention, but she rejected it. After I won the first set, she came back for the second and at 1-0 down, she retired due to feverish symptoms.
“Yeah, I am in the quarterfinal but that’s not how I intended to make it to this stage,” Morocco-based Quadre said.
The match which will be played at the center court not before 11:00am, is already considered one of the biggest matches of the day, and the Nigerian will be banking on local support to pull through.
Nigeria Tennis Live will be on ground to report updates from the competition to our teeming audience.