Quadri Aruna is over the moon after coming from 2-0 down to beat No. 5 seed Tomokazu Harimoto in the Men’s Singles round of 32 game at the 2024 WTT Frankfurt on Sunday.
Nigeria recorded a stunning 3-2 comeback win (7-11, 11-13, 11-5, 14-12, 11-3) at Süwag Energie ARENA to progress to the round of 16.
The Ibadan-born reflected on his gusty performance in a post-match press conference, saying, “At 0-2 down, I knew I was never alone. The crowd was there for me; they were supporting me and kept me going. Because of that, I never gave up. I kept fighting and fighting. I’m here to have fun, enjoy myself, and show the world that I’m one of the best from Nigeria and Africa.”
Going on a run to the Men’s Singles final at last week’s WTT Champions Montpellier 2024, Harimoto was well-backed to go on another long run in Frankfurt and couldn’t have asked for a better start to the opening day, bagging games one and two in a best of five encounter.
However, Aruna, ranked 21 in the world, who came out on top in their previous international showdown, wasn’t prepared to back down, as the 36-year-old Nigerian hit back with a big response in the third set.
Then came a pivotal moment in the match as Harimoto put distance between himself and his opponent in game four, building a 1-5 lead before moving 6-9 ahead. The Japanese star would then hold two match point opportunities at 9-10 and 10-11, but Aruna would deny him twice, forcing a decider to put the Frankfurt crowd on the edge of their seats.
Playing with all the confidence and freedom in the world, Aruna hammered away at the ball, punishing Harimoto in the fast exchanges as the wave of momentum firmly shifted in the African trailblazer’s favour.
Ripping a cracking backhand at 10-3 to put his opponent on ice, Aruna takes his place in the round of 16 draw, earning only his second-ever match win at WTT Champions level, one week on from bagging his first in Montpellier.
His opponent at the tournament with USD 500,000 prize money is yet unknown.
