Ex Champion, Swiss Star Targets Another Title At Lagos Open

For the tournament number player in the women’s event, Conny Perrin of Switzerland, her return to Nigeria to compete in the Lagos Open Tennis 2018, formerly known as the Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis, is to win the competition again.

The 27-year-old right handed player has been a regular visitor to Lagos since 2012 where she had won the doubles title in 2012 and singles titles from 2015 to 2017.

This year, Perrin, started her campaign on a winning note, winning her first game in the main draw of the first leg against Indian Jennifer Lukham in straight set of 6-4, 6-2.

After the match played on Tuesday at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan, Perrin said: “Not easy when you play your first match. My opponent is a very good player and she did a good job on the court. The weather condition also affected me, but I’m quite happy with the start and I know that there will be no easy matches, so I will just focus on match by match, one at a time. So, I’m really looking for the next match.

“My opponent was really playing well and the serve was very fast. She did what she could do and I did mine at some important moments, playing well for important points. I stayed there and fought and remain constant with my game. I knew this will be the key and I’m happy I did to win my first game.

On her expectation at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) approved tournament in Lagos, Conny who started playing tennis at the age of six said: “The goal is to win the titles again, but to do this, I have to focus on one match at a time, starting with the next match, know what I need to do and will continue to do it. That’s my goal here and I will do everything possible to achieve winning the titles.”

Meanwhile, Tiffany William, Nigerian-born British player, lost her first game of the competition to second seed Deniz Khazaniuk in straight set of 6-2,6-2.

She attributed her loss to being sick a night before the match. She said: “Being the first round, there were a lot of nerves; my opponent was a good player. The humidity was fine, I don’t have any issue with the weather but I was a bit sick the night before so maybe that affected my game today.”

William who was runner up in the women’s doubles last year in Lagos rated the standard of the tournament very high.

“The standard is high. Obviously, you have players like the one I played today; she’s number 200 in the world. That’s speaking for itself on the level of the tournament and I’m hoping that I can compete at that very top level soon,” she said.