Team Fiji tennis rep Ruby Coffin won her first match beating Oman’s Maryam Balushi two sets to one in the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan yesterday.

Coffin managed to win 7-6 in both sets despite being taken to the wire by Balushi.

Being her first major international tournament, Coffin says, she was happy about the win and is looking forward to maintaining that winning momentum.

“It was a really tough game, Oman came out fighting and made me work for my points in every set,” Coffin said.

“I was really nervous about the game, I did not know what I was going up against but I held my ground and never gave up even when I was lagging behind.

“With the support of my fellow team mates and coach, I managed to come away with a win, they were there rminding me of my potential and to not give up hope and that is what I did.”

Coach Robert Krause was happy and proud of the performance Coffin put in and is positive the win will be a motivation factor for the rest of the tennis players.

“She’s still young, she has been around for a long time but I think this was her real first test which she successfully came through which is good for us. In matches like this, she learnt that every point makes a difference, it is not about how good or bad you are but how well you get points on the board.

“I have never seen Ruby compete that well, I know she can hit really well because we practice all the time but it is a matter of converting it into match play.

“This is the best I have seen her play in any competition and it is a good starting point for the rest of the players because it gives them confidence and pushes them to do better as well.”

Conway Beg will play Fiji’s second tennis match in the men’s singles which starts at 10am today.  FASANOC

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