I Had Sweet Revenge Over Aiyegbusi —Akingbade

Nobody gave unseeded, Ronke Akingbade, a chance but after seeing off second seed, Aanu Aiyegbusi, at the on going 33rd Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Open Tennis Championship, she described the victory, as a “sweet revenge”.

Akingbade defeated second seeded Aiyegbusi 6-3,6-2 in the first round of the tourney at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria, to book her place in the second round.

It was a major upset recorded in the Women’s Singles so far.

Akingbade showed her class with the way and manner she dispatched Aiyegbusi with her breathtaking ground strokes and occasional lob over the hapless seeded player.

In a chat with P.M. Sports, the elated Akingbade said she was happy to have finally sent her seeded opponent packing from the event put together by the apex bank, having lost to her three times in the past. She boasted that her target is to surpass her quarter final feat recorded in the last edition.

“I’m delighted to have finally broken the jinx of always losing to Aiyegbusi in crucial stages of major tournaments, having lost to her three times recently. I was enveloped with the fear of losing to her again, she was like a nightmare because I thought I was going to fall to her superior power. I’m glad and proud to have proved my mettle with the victory over her.

“Honestly, it was a sweet revenge for me because she had boasted that she was going to defeat me like the last edition, boasting that she would always be my mistress. Now I’m glad she tasted the bitter side of defeat,” she smiled.

The fair complexioned tennis player said she was going all the way to win the tourney, not minding that she is an unseeded player in this year’s edition.

“I’m not going to rest on my oares but would continue to put in my best to make sure that my aim of winning the tourney is not defeated. I know, I‘m not favoured to win, but I will put my all to win the competition in order to surpass my previous semi final record in 2009 edition”.

Taking a look into the future, she said: “I know I will face a lot of challenges especially from the defending champion and top seed, Fatimat Abinu; I’m not scared of her because I’m well prepared, I worked on my strength and I know her weaknesses. With that and God on my side, I’m confident of victory over her if we eventually meet somewhere along the way,” she boasted.

—Bamidele Olowosagba