Valeriya Strakhova from Ukraine was made to fight for every point she earned in her defeat of Nigerian teenage sensation, Oyinlomo Quadre, and she could no do without paying a huge compliment to the youngster.
Quadre was in a world of her own when she took on the tournament’s number two seed in their quarterfinal match on Friday, 18 October, 2019.
She won the first set, fought really hard in the second before drawing blanks in the final set to end the match at 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.
The Ukrainian soon realized how difficult it is to win a match in the ITF World Tour event, after the encounter, and had nothing but encomium for the African number four ranked player.
In a brief chat with Nigeria Tennis Live after the match, she said: “She’s good, she’s young and I think she’s the best in Nigeria.”
Strakhova would later add that: “She had a lot of support in this match, it probably helped her… the Nigerian supporters made me fight, so it was good for me.”
While also remembering their 2018 encounter where she defeated the Nigerian number three national player, the world 384 ranked player said: “She’s much better than she was last year, and it was a really difficult day for me.
“I think she’s a top 300 player with the abilities that she has and if she has access to good facilities more than what they have in Nigeria.”