Eastbourne offers invaluable preparation ahead of Wimbledon for numerous world-class tennis players. Whether on the practice courts or during actual match play. But Gilles Simon and Feliciano Lopez took it to a whole new level by tuning up for today's first round encounter at the All-England Club by playing each other in the Aegon International final!
It's just the luck of the draw, of course. Lopez and Simon knew, when the Wimbledon first round matches were revealed on Friday morning, that if they beat Ivan Dodig and Andreas Seppi respectively in the Eastbourne semi-finals, they would face each other twice in three days. And, incredibly, considering they've both been close to the top of the game for much of the last few years, they'd only played each other once before - in 2008.
The Eastbourne final was a high quality match, despite the fact that second-seed Simon had struggled with a bug for most of the week, and unseeded world no. 39 Lopez is on the comeback trail after missing a significant amount of the season so far with a wrist injury.
31 year old left-hander Feliciano is unusual for a Spaniard in having a game ideally suited to grass, with his serve-and-volley and backhand slice. He's a three-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist, but is perhaps best known with the wider British public for Judy Murray's "Deliciano Lopez" comments!
He appeared to have the edge throughout much of the first two sets of the competitive tussle, but Frenchman Gilles was showing his canny ability to rally without error and go for the right shots at the right time. Last week there were several occasions when it seemed his opponents might have too much game for him, but he confounded expectations - as he's often done throughout a career that has seen him reach the world's top ten. This was encapsulated when, close to losing the match in the second set tie-break, a return winner as Lopez attempted to serve-volley gave him the crucial mini-break to lead 6-4, going on to take the tie-break and set up a deciding set.
But the first grass court title of Feliciano Lopez's career turned out not to be far away as he dominated the final set to triumph 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (5-7), 6-0.
And this evening Lopez repeated the result - defeating Simon, the 19th seed at Wimbledon, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (13-11). Simon, whose play improved considerably by the end of the match (that third set tie-break seeing some truly brilliant tennis from both men), was very unlucky to have to face such a dangerous opponent in the first round. Lopez's Eastbourne victory saw him rise to 32 in the new rankings list - high enough for a Grand Slam seeding but, of course, just too late for this year's Wimbledon.
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
Watching Stosur Across The Globe
Eastbourne seems to bring the best out of Sam Stosur when she plays Nadia Petrova.
Today Petrova, the world no. 13, and the Aegon International's eighth seed, was upset 6-2, 6-3 on Court Two in the first round by Australia's Stosur, currently ranked just one place below at world no.14, but therefore unseeded.
Their career head-to-head record now stands at 6-4 in Petrova's favour, and the only match where Stosur conceded as few as five games against her Russian rival took place - yes, you've guessed it - in the first round at Eastbourne 2011 (6-1, 6-4).
True, Petrova beat Stosur in the semi-finals of Eastbourne 2008, but that was in the days when Stosur was just beginning to emerge as a singles contender, following her huge success in the doubles game.
I watched Stosur beat Petrova on Court One in their first round encounter at Eastbourne 2011 - the Aussie's first victory over the Russian in five attempts. But it was their next meeting that would become probably the most significant of all their matches so far - certainly in terms of Sam Stosur's career.
Having had the opportunity to speak with her briefly during Eastbourne 2011, and tell her that my Aussie relatives in Brisbane were very proud of her as a fellow Queenslander, I was visiting them - as well as Sydney and Melbourne - a few months later, as the US Open began.
Watching the Australian TV commentators talking up her chances, I wondered how realistic they were being, and of course thought of the similar situation in the UK regarding Andy Murray. Sam's talent and potential is extraordinary, but the chances of her performing close enough to her best throughout the whole tournament didn't look good, even though her form had been reasonable during the North American hardcourt tournaments after Wimbledon 2011.
When it came to her third round match against Nadia Petrova, the commentators pointed out Sam's easy win against her at Eastbourne, and sounded confident of victory, even as she struggled in the second set, having taken the first.
However, when I turned the TV off in my Melbourne hotel room, and headed for the airport, Nadia was leading 3-1 in the final set. It was over 24 hours before I found the result on the internet during a stopover in Singapore. I was somewhat surprised to read that Sam had won, and later discovered it was the longest women's match in US Open history since the introduction of the tie-break. She went on to have another epic win against Maria Kirilenko, having to go to a third set after Maria won the longest tie-break in women's Grand Slam history, 17-15.
Given that she'd lost to Serena Williams a few weeks earlier in Toronto - and the fact that she'd underperformed in her only previous Grand Slam final (the 2010 French Open, against Schiavone), the chances of her playing the match of her life in the 2011 US Open final to beat an in-form Serena - which it seemed she might well need to do - looked remote. But that, of course, is exactly what happened.
Watching back in Eastbourne, it was close to midnight when she wrapped up the 6-2, 6-3 stunner; it was early evening in New York; and as she pointed out in the on-court interview, breakfast time in Queensland. My uncle, who has always been positive about "our darling Sam", including during some disappointing losses in the last few years, sent an email with the subject line, "We love you, Sam Stosur!"
Today Petrova, the world no. 13, and the Aegon International's eighth seed, was upset 6-2, 6-3 on Court Two in the first round by Australia's Stosur, currently ranked just one place below at world no.14, but therefore unseeded.
Their career head-to-head record now stands at 6-4 in Petrova's favour, and the only match where Stosur conceded as few as five games against her Russian rival took place - yes, you've guessed it - in the first round at Eastbourne 2011 (6-1, 6-4).
True, Petrova beat Stosur in the semi-finals of Eastbourne 2008, but that was in the days when Stosur was just beginning to emerge as a singles contender, following her huge success in the doubles game.
I watched Stosur beat Petrova on Court One in their first round encounter at Eastbourne 2011 - the Aussie's first victory over the Russian in five attempts. But it was their next meeting that would become probably the most significant of all their matches so far - certainly in terms of Sam Stosur's career.
Having had the opportunity to speak with her briefly during Eastbourne 2011, and tell her that my Aussie relatives in Brisbane were very proud of her as a fellow Queenslander, I was visiting them - as well as Sydney and Melbourne - a few months later, as the US Open began.
Watching the Australian TV commentators talking up her chances, I wondered how realistic they were being, and of course thought of the similar situation in the UK regarding Andy Murray. Sam's talent and potential is extraordinary, but the chances of her performing close enough to her best throughout the whole tournament didn't look good, even though her form had been reasonable during the North American hardcourt tournaments after Wimbledon 2011.
When it came to her third round match against Nadia Petrova, the commentators pointed out Sam's easy win against her at Eastbourne, and sounded confident of victory, even as she struggled in the second set, having taken the first.
However, when I turned the TV off in my Melbourne hotel room, and headed for the airport, Nadia was leading 3-1 in the final set. It was over 24 hours before I found the result on the internet during a stopover in Singapore. I was somewhat surprised to read that Sam had won, and later discovered it was the longest women's match in US Open history since the introduction of the tie-break. She went on to have another epic win against Maria Kirilenko, having to go to a third set after Maria won the longest tie-break in women's Grand Slam history, 17-15.
Given that she'd lost to Serena Williams a few weeks earlier in Toronto - and the fact that she'd underperformed in her only previous Grand Slam final (the 2010 French Open, against Schiavone), the chances of her playing the match of her life in the 2011 US Open final to beat an in-form Serena - which it seemed she might well need to do - looked remote. But that, of course, is exactly what happened.
Watching back in Eastbourne, it was close to midnight when she wrapped up the 6-2, 6-3 stunner; it was early evening in New York; and as she pointed out in the on-court interview, breakfast time in Queensland. My uncle, who has always been positive about "our darling Sam", including during some disappointing losses in the last few years, sent an email with the subject line, "We love you, Sam Stosur!"
Sunday, 26 May 2013
The French Open Begins, And Posters Spring Up In Eastbourne... The Tournament Must Be Fast Approaching!
So, the 2013 French Open is now under way. The match of the first day in the men's event has to be home hope Gilles Simon's five-set win over Australian former world no. 1 Lleyton Hewitt. The Frenchman led 5-0 in the final set, and withstood a fightback from the legendarily tenacious Hewitt to eventually triumph 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-5 - the first time in his career he's won from two sets down.
At the moment Simon is scheduled to be the top men's seed at this year's Aegon International, and he's just one of the images that have sprung up in Eastbourne in the last few days, advertising the event. The posters were up in time for yesterday's Eastbourne carnival, and include Agnieszka Radwanska, Fernando Verdasco, Heather Watson, Laura Robson and Caroline Wozniacki. The latter two, of course, are due to face off tomorrow in the first round in Paris.
For a full list of the men's and women's entrants for Eastbourne so far, go to the tournament's official website at: http://aegoninternational.co.uk, or my former stomping ground (well, I had features published there, at least!) of http://eastbournetennis.com, where I understand they exclusively revealed this year's likely entrants in early May.
At the moment Simon is scheduled to be the top men's seed at this year's Aegon International, and he's just one of the images that have sprung up in Eastbourne in the last few days, advertising the event. The posters were up in time for yesterday's Eastbourne carnival, and include Agnieszka Radwanska, Fernando Verdasco, Heather Watson, Laura Robson and Caroline Wozniacki. The latter two, of course, are due to face off tomorrow in the first round in Paris.
For a full list of the men's and women's entrants for Eastbourne so far, go to the tournament's official website at: http://aegoninternational.co.uk, or my former stomping ground (well, I had features published there, at least!) of http://eastbournetennis.com, where I understand they exclusively revealed this year's likely entrants in early May.
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Players Battle Wind, Bartoli - Paszek Epic, Roddick On Court 3, Angelique "More Wins Than Anyone Else" Kerber, Sharapova's Near-Nemesis, Champ Seppi, Nadal's Grass-Court Conqueror, Hotshot Harrison, And More!
Something of the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious to the title of this post, I know. But semi-finals (and quarter-finals as it turned out) day at the Aegon International was certainly action-packed. My VisitEastbourne guest blog on Friday's action can be read by clicking on this link: http://visit-eastbourne.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/aegon-international-guest-blog-friday.html. To view all the guest blogs and entry features - from myself, Matthew Arnold, Gabriella De Feo, Jack Gracie, Tommy Curran, and Steph Temple, click on "Home" at the bottom of my Friday feature. Alternatively, you can view them all by simply clicking on this link: http://visit-eastbourne.blogspot.co.uk/
Monday, 18 June 2012
Hingis, Rusedski, Martinez and Philippoussis Take Centre Stage... While Qualifying Battles Continue
My guest blog, on yesterday's events at Devonshire Park, for the VisitEastbourne website, can be viewed by clicking this link:
http://visit-eastbourne.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/aegon-international-guest-blog-sunday.html
http://visit-eastbourne.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/aegon-international-guest-blog-sunday.html
Friday, 2 March 2012
Tickets for 2012
Less than two hours on from Andy Murray's great win over Novak Djokovic in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semi-finals, I thought I'd post a reminder about tickets for this year's Eastbourne event - where there's just a few hours left of the special purchase period, ahead of the general sale. Unfortunately, Murray and Djokovic - and also Federer and Nadal - seem unlikely to participate in this year's Eastbourne event. As a Premier WTA tournament, but only an ATP 250 event, it attracts plenty of the top-ranked women, but far less of the top-ranked men. The only realistic chance of one of the aforementioned male players entering the tournament would be if they didn't get enough matches at the Queen's Club or Halle events the week before. Last year, however, the Eastbourne men's field did include Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Lleyton Hewitt and finalist Janko Tipsarevic, on his way to the world's top ten.
So, the tickets for the 2012 event, taking place from Saturday 16th - Saturday 23rd June: this year the LTA have appointed The Ticket Factory(TTF) to handle the sales and distribution (it was SeeTickets for the previous two years). Weekly centre court tickets are available by telephone only - not online. The UK phone number is 0844 581 1540. The special purchase period, allowing 2011 customers to book the same seat as last year (at 2012 prices), will close in a few hours - midnight UK time. After that, weekly tickets will still be available but, we're told, there are no guarantees the same seat will be available throughout the whole week.
The General Sale of tickets will not begin until 10am on Saturday 10th March. The Ticket Factory's box office phone number is 0844 581 3015, and the website is http://www.theticketfactory.com/.
Before then, this weekend sees the only opportunity to buy tickets in person at the Eastbourne box office, before the week of the tournament. The box office is at the International Tennis Centre, Devonshire Park, College Road, Eastbourne, BN21 4JJ, and will be open 9am - 5pm Saturday 3rd March and 9am - 2pm Sunday 4th March. Unlike last year, however, this box office will also be open one day before the tournament begins - Friday 15th June, 11am - 4pm.
Weekly Centre Court tickets are £200 (except for restricted views - £100 -£110). Full price centre court tickets are £27 per day, Sunday through Tuesday, then take a hike to £39 from Wednesday. The semi finals on Friday and finals on Saturday are £41 per day - with major reductions for restricted views, again. The good news for this year is that the first Saturday, 16th June, is Free access for ALL the courts. The bad news is that the seats in the North and West Stands of Court No.1 will be ticketed from Monday 18th through Friday 22nd. This means that those with only a ground pass can no longer see the big names in action on this court. Centre Court ticket holders will still have access to Court 1, but only the East Stand - more restricting.
Children are eligible for free ground passes every day, provided the "child" (aged 16 and under!) is accompanied by a paying adult, and the "child"'s ticket is requested when the accompanying adult purchases their ticket. Child ticket prices for Centre Court tickets are substantially less than adult tickets: £7 per day Sunday through Tuesday, £11 - 13 per day from Wednesday onwards. Adult ground passes are £14 per day Monday through Friday, £5 on finals day. Adult Court 1 tickets are £20 per day Monday through Thursday - again, substantially less for children. And there is a £2 reduction on ALL tickets for BTMs (British Tennis Members) and groups of 8 or more.
For more information, the somewhat complicated ticket system is presented clearly on the home page of http://www.eastbournetennis.com/, and there are also full details on the tournament's official website, http://www.aegoninternational.co.uk/.
2012 looks like being a big year for Eastbourne's Aegon International - the world's biggest grass-court Wimbledon warm-up tournament. Held just a few weeks before the Olympic tennis tournament takes place at Wimbledon, there are already rumours that the world's top players will use the Eastbourne venue for extra preparation for these two massive events. Don't delay investigating your options for tickets!
So, the tickets for the 2012 event, taking place from Saturday 16th - Saturday 23rd June: this year the LTA have appointed The Ticket Factory(TTF) to handle the sales and distribution (it was SeeTickets for the previous two years). Weekly centre court tickets are available by telephone only - not online. The UK phone number is 0844 581 1540. The special purchase period, allowing 2011 customers to book the same seat as last year (at 2012 prices), will close in a few hours - midnight UK time. After that, weekly tickets will still be available but, we're told, there are no guarantees the same seat will be available throughout the whole week.
The General Sale of tickets will not begin until 10am on Saturday 10th March. The Ticket Factory's box office phone number is 0844 581 3015, and the website is http://www.theticketfactory.com/.
Before then, this weekend sees the only opportunity to buy tickets in person at the Eastbourne box office, before the week of the tournament. The box office is at the International Tennis Centre, Devonshire Park, College Road, Eastbourne, BN21 4JJ, and will be open 9am - 5pm Saturday 3rd March and 9am - 2pm Sunday 4th March. Unlike last year, however, this box office will also be open one day before the tournament begins - Friday 15th June, 11am - 4pm.
Weekly Centre Court tickets are £200 (except for restricted views - £100 -£110). Full price centre court tickets are £27 per day, Sunday through Tuesday, then take a hike to £39 from Wednesday. The semi finals on Friday and finals on Saturday are £41 per day - with major reductions for restricted views, again. The good news for this year is that the first Saturday, 16th June, is Free access for ALL the courts. The bad news is that the seats in the North and West Stands of Court No.1 will be ticketed from Monday 18th through Friday 22nd. This means that those with only a ground pass can no longer see the big names in action on this court. Centre Court ticket holders will still have access to Court 1, but only the East Stand - more restricting.
Children are eligible for free ground passes every day, provided the "child" (aged 16 and under!) is accompanied by a paying adult, and the "child"'s ticket is requested when the accompanying adult purchases their ticket. Child ticket prices for Centre Court tickets are substantially less than adult tickets: £7 per day Sunday through Tuesday, £11 - 13 per day from Wednesday onwards. Adult ground passes are £14 per day Monday through Friday, £5 on finals day. Adult Court 1 tickets are £20 per day Monday through Thursday - again, substantially less for children. And there is a £2 reduction on ALL tickets for BTMs (British Tennis Members) and groups of 8 or more.
For more information, the somewhat complicated ticket system is presented clearly on the home page of http://www.eastbournetennis.com/, and there are also full details on the tournament's official website, http://www.aegoninternational.co.uk/.
2012 looks like being a big year for Eastbourne's Aegon International - the world's biggest grass-court Wimbledon warm-up tournament. Held just a few weeks before the Olympic tennis tournament takes place at Wimbledon, there are already rumours that the world's top players will use the Eastbourne venue for extra preparation for these two massive events. Don't delay investigating your options for tickets!
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Petra Kvitova, Wimbledon Champion - Can I Feel Smug?!
On the first day of the women's main draw matches at this year's Eastbourne tournament, a taxi driver told me he was considering taking his young son to the event. He asked me what they could expect to see with a ground pass that day. I told him that, among the attractions of the matches on the outer courts were some reasonably big name women players. I explained that a ground pass gives you access to part of Court One as well, and that one of the players scheduled to play there was Petra Kvitova. I said, "She's not hugely well-known if you're not an avid follower of tennis, but she could win Wimbledon."
I wonder if I was allowed to feel very smug today, as Petra was outhitting Maria Sharapova to strorm to stardom in the Wimbledon final.
The truth, of course, is that I was far from the only person tipping big things for the 21-year-old Czech left-hander. And, although I thought she was marginally ahead of Victoria Azarenka in being the most likely finalist from the bottom half of the draw, after the defeat of Venus Williams, before today's match I was picking Maria Sharapova as the most likely champion. I thought Maria was the slight favourite for the title from the start of the tournament. Lindsay Davenport made the same prediction, but shrewdly changed her mind before today's match.
Many other pundits, like me, persevered with the Sharapova pick. I didn't, however, agree with a couple of commentators who last night described it as Maria's match to win or lose. I thought it was more likely the other way round, as Kvitova has a little more in her game, but I wondered whether, when push came to shove, she was really ready to take her first Grand Slam title here and now. I thought she might well make too many errors, like she did in the Eastbourne final.
I'm happy I was wrong. She played an exhilirating match, at times the tennis was electrifying from both players, although Sharapova didn't produce enough of her best to make it a classic. But Petra's triumph over any gremlins that could have hampered her from playing her glorious game in the Wimbledon final was a joy. And a very positive sign for the future of women's tennis. Her game continues the new tradition of huge aggression off both forehand and backhand sides, as pioneered by Monica Seles, and extended by the likes of Lindsay Davenport and the Williams sisters, but adds some extra variety and flair, showing that maybe Martina Hingis and Justine Henin's brief periods of domination have left some kind of legacy.
The prediction now from several pundits is that Kvitova's Grand Slam triumph is "the first of many". That phrase has been banded about whenever a relatively young player has won a debut Major. More often than not, it seems, their career doesn't turn out to be as trophy-laden as predicted. There is, however, more reason in this case to believe we're talking about a multi-Grand Slam career. But that possibility is way too far in the distance to try to look at in close-up focus now. Wimbledon Champion 2011 is a pretty good achievement, to say the least.
I wonder if I was allowed to feel very smug today, as Petra was outhitting Maria Sharapova to strorm to stardom in the Wimbledon final.
The truth, of course, is that I was far from the only person tipping big things for the 21-year-old Czech left-hander. And, although I thought she was marginally ahead of Victoria Azarenka in being the most likely finalist from the bottom half of the draw, after the defeat of Venus Williams, before today's match I was picking Maria Sharapova as the most likely champion. I thought Maria was the slight favourite for the title from the start of the tournament. Lindsay Davenport made the same prediction, but shrewdly changed her mind before today's match.
Many other pundits, like me, persevered with the Sharapova pick. I didn't, however, agree with a couple of commentators who last night described it as Maria's match to win or lose. I thought it was more likely the other way round, as Kvitova has a little more in her game, but I wondered whether, when push came to shove, she was really ready to take her first Grand Slam title here and now. I thought she might well make too many errors, like she did in the Eastbourne final.
I'm happy I was wrong. She played an exhilirating match, at times the tennis was electrifying from both players, although Sharapova didn't produce enough of her best to make it a classic. But Petra's triumph over any gremlins that could have hampered her from playing her glorious game in the Wimbledon final was a joy. And a very positive sign for the future of women's tennis. Her game continues the new tradition of huge aggression off both forehand and backhand sides, as pioneered by Monica Seles, and extended by the likes of Lindsay Davenport and the Williams sisters, but adds some extra variety and flair, showing that maybe Martina Hingis and Justine Henin's brief periods of domination have left some kind of legacy.
The prediction now from several pundits is that Kvitova's Grand Slam triumph is "the first of many". That phrase has been banded about whenever a relatively young player has won a debut Major. More often than not, it seems, their career doesn't turn out to be as trophy-laden as predicted. There is, however, more reason in this case to believe we're talking about a multi-Grand Slam career. But that possibility is way too far in the distance to try to look at in close-up focus now. Wimbledon Champion 2011 is a pretty good achievement, to say the least.
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