Mumbai, Feb 4 (IANS): Ankita Raina is delighted to be back at the Mumbai Open WTA 125 Series that is taking place at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai. The former India number one secured a commanding 6-2, 6-2 win over fellow Indian Vaishnavi Adkari to book her place in the Round of 16.

She will be up against the second seed, Rebecca Marino of Canada in the next round.

The 32-year-old, who has a wealth of experience on the circuit, spoke on her experience at the tournament and said, “I'm happy to be back here in Mumbai to play at the Mumbai Open. I think it's my fourth or fifth year at the event. I would like to thank the MSLTA team and tournament directors, Sunder Iyer and Prashant Sutar, for giving me the wildcard. This tournament provides a great opportunity for Indian players to play against some of the best players in the world.”

Reflecting on her performance that got her through to the next round, “I haven’t played her before but we have practiced together sometimes recently. I think I started well, and I knew she's an aggressive player as well. So, I knew what to expect and I’m happy to play against her.”

Ankita is currently working alongside Harsh Mankad, who is a former ATP professional tennis player and has represented the country at the Davis Cup. She shed some light on their partnership.

“He's helping me out, since he has a perspective of this league. We’re trying out something new. He's also based in the States though. So, we’ll see how it goes, but I’m happy to have that support.”

The experienced tennis player spoke about her professional journey, stating, “I think I've been in that position for quite some time now, since 10-11 years. So, I’ve been through that journey. Even now, I feel the same way I felt back then. I am my own competition and, I would say that to the other upcoming players as well. You need to see that if you're better than yesterday, and you have got to keep working on that. After all, you want to compete at the grand slams, and that's where you want to be.”