Prior to coming to Eastbourne, Ekaterina Makarova had not gotten past the second round of a tournament this season. At the AEGON International, players faced the toughest draw imaginable, and Makarova was no exception. Only first she had to qualify. In qualifying, she defeated Evigeniya Rodina and Sania Mirza. Then the world 100 defeated 6th seed Flavia Pennetta, Nadia Petrova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, 3rd seed Sam Stosur, and--today--Victoria Azarenka. And throughout the tournament, she didn't drop a set. Makarova is the first qualifier to ever win in Eastbourne.
Unfortunately, Azarenka's knees gave her some trouble in the final--just when we thought her injury problems were a thing of the past. This condition does not bode well for Azarenka as she prepares for Wimbledon.
As for Makarova, she has her Wimbledon work cut out for her, too. She plays Agnes Szavay in the first round; then, if things go as expected, she meets Venus Williams in the second round.
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