Raymond and Stubbs win Eastbourne championship

Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs, seeded 4th at the AEGON International, won the championship today in Eastbourne. Raymond and Stubbs defeated 2nd seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 6-2, 2-6, 13-11. Peschke and Srebotnik held two match points in the super-tiebreak.

Makarova wins Eastbourne--the good stories keep coming

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.

Makarova and Azarenka to meet in Eastbourne final

Ekaterina Makarova has an excellent record at the AEGON International. In 2008 and 2009, she had to go through qualifying, but she has reached the quarterfinals. This year, she had to qualify again, and now she has reached the final.

If Makarova isn't a player fans expected to see in this year's final, neither is her opponent. Victoria Azarenka is, of course, a very fine player, but she has had to withdraw and retire so much lately because of knee and thigh injuries, it seemed improbable that she would wind up in the AEGON International final.

To get to the final, Azarenka defeated 4th seed Agnieszka Radwanska, qualifier Heather Watson, 5th seed Kim Clijsters, and 8th seed Marion Bartoli. Makarova defeated 6th seed Flavia Pennetta, Nadia Petrova, wild card Svetlana Kuznetsova, and 3rd seed Sam Stosur.

This tournament featured an especially difficult draw, so both women had to knock out really good players to get to the final.

Makarova knocks out Kuznetsova, advances to Eastbourne semifinals

Qualifier Ekaterina Makarova, having already taken out 6th seed Flavia Pennetta and Nadia Petrova in Eastbourne, continued her surprise run today by defeating wild card Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 7-5. Makarova is ranked number 100 in the world.

8th seed Marion Bartoli and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez played for over two hours and 50 minutes, producing only four breaks of serve. Martinez Sanchez hit an impressive fifteen aces, but the 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 victory went to Bartoli.

Wild card Elena Baltacha took 3rd seed Sam Stosur to three sets, with Stosur winning, 6-7, 6-1, 6-0. Stosur also hit fifteen aces.

Finally, Victoria Azarenka upset 5th seed Kim Clijsters, 7-6, 6-4. Azarenka played with tape beneath both of her knees, and appeared to experience some pain during one point in the match. Azarenka has struggled for some time with problems with her knees and her thigh.

In the semifinals, Makarova will play Stosur, and Bartoli will play Azarenka.

Kuznetsova sqeaks into Eastbourne quarterfinals

Wild card Svetlana Kuznetsova had to save a match point in her 2 and a 1/2-hour contest against Sorana Cirstea today in Eastbourne. She emerged victorious, with a 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 score.

Not so lucky was Aravane Rezai, who had to retire against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez; Rezai sustained an injury to her right wrist.

Qualifier Ekaterina Makarova, who upset Flavia Pennetta in the first round, took out Nadia Petrova, 6-2, 6-0, today. And wild card Elena Baltacha defeated Zheng Jie 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.

The draw in Eastburne is an especially tough one. Daniela Hantuchova went out today in the second round, defeated by Sam Stosur, and Lucie Safarova won one game against Kim Clijsters. Also, Heather Watson's run came to and end; she won only two games against Victoria Azarenka.

Defending champion Wozniacki out of Eastbourne in 1st round

No one has spoiled more good times lately than Aravane Rezai, and today, she took away defending champion Caroline Wozniacki's hope of defending her title in Eastbourne.

A contest between top seed Wozniacki and Rezai is a study of contrasts: The former is considered by many to have too defensive a game, without a plan B; the latter is considered by many to have too aggressive a game, without a plan B. Today, the aggression overpowered, and Rezai walked away with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory. Playing in very windy condtions, she also hit ten aces, a feat which does not win a match (ask Lucie Hradecka)--but it doesn't hurt, either.

Rezai is a very high-risk player--too high-risk, to be exact--but to call her a "ball basher," as some fans do, is to fail to take into account the Frenchwoman's ability to establish and control the rhythm of a match. Even I like watching her, and I'm the kind of fan who prefers to sit for hours and watch the likes of Evonne Goolagong or Martina Hingis. Of course, part of Rezai's attraction is her huge on-court personality, which helps her maintain notable intensity for long periods of time.

Of interest: 2010 French Open champion and surprise 2009 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Francesca Schiavone was also eliminated in the first round today. Sorana Cirstea defeated the 2nd seed 7-5, 6-3.

4th seed Agnieszka Radwanska went out, too, defeated 7-6, 6-1 by Victoria Azarenka. And qualifier Ekaterina Makarova upset 6th seed Flavia Pennetta 7-5, 6-1.

Speaking of qualifiers, Heather Watson defeated Aleksandra Wozniak--also a qualifier--6-3, 6-2. This was Watson's first main draw victory.

7th seed and Birmingham champion Li Na retired today with a left thigh injury; one hopes this isn't a sign of bad things to come.

Wild card Svetlana Kuznetsova won her first round match against Alisa Kleybanova, seed 5th Kim Clijsters ran over Yanina Wickmayer, 6-1, 6-1, and Zheng Jie defeated Shahar Peer.

Wozniacki wins Eastbourne

Caroline Wozniacki, playing a high quality match against Virginie Razzano, won the AEGON International today, 7-6, 7-5. Both players served well, and both returned well. Razzano wound up with almost twice as many winners as Wozniacki.

The match also had some unusual drama. Wozniacki was up 6-1 in the first set tiebreak, when Razzano began making point after point. Toward the end of the tiebreak, Wozniacki hit a ball which appeared to be in, but which the chair umpire overruled as out. The point was replayed, and Razzano won it. Justice was served in the end, though, when Wozniacki--serving at 6-5--immediately own the set on her first serve.

In the second set, there was another moment--again toward the end of the set--when Wozniacki thought she had hit a winner and won the championship, only to have her ball called out as she was approaching the net to shake hands with her opponent (reminiscent of what happened to poor Nathalie Dechy last year during the second round of Wimbledon). She and Razzano both had a good laugh, then Razzano proceeded to win the next two points. Wozniacki prevailed in the end, however.

Black and Huber upset in Eastbourne semifinal

Top seeds and defending champions Cara Black and Liezel Huber were defeated today in the AEGON International semifinals by 4th seeds Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs, 6-4, 7-6. Stosur and Stubbs will meet Amanmuradova and Ai Sugiyama in the final. Akgul Amanmuradova and Sugiyama defeated Vania King and Zheng Jie 6-3, 6-4.

Razzano and Wozniacki to compete for Eastbourne title

I didn't get to see the semifinal match between Virginie Razzano and Marion Bartoli, but I remarked last night that it was either going to be an outstanding affair, or Bartoli was going to retire--nothing in between. Well, Bartoli retired at 4-6, 0-1, with a thigh strain, so there you are.

I also missed the first set of the match between Aleksandra Wozniak and Caroline Wozniacki. Wozniak took that set, 6-4. The infamous Eastbourne wind howled, which I think may have caused Wozniak to become too conservative; she just stopped taking necessary risks. Wozniacki raised her level of play, came in more, and took the next two sets, 6-3 and 6-4.

There was a very amusing moment when Wozniacki, having slipped and fallen on the grass (for the second time), returned a shot when she was practically lying on her back. It was a good return, but Wozniak sped it back to her while she was still on the ground.

At one point in Tennis Channel coverage, there was a brief clip shown of the 1998 Novotna-Tauziat final, and I was thinking that I would like to see Jana Novotna terrorize today's (comparatively boring) baseline grass players. One of the commentators then said something similar. Enjoy Amelie Mauresmo while you can.

French vs. French, Woz vs. Woz

Commentators, and perhaps others, who do not follow Agnieszka Radwanska sometimes believe she is somewhat out of sorts on the court when she is not. Her Evert-like affect is merely one of calm and concentration (Evert herself was torn to shreds by the media--especially the British media--for her affect). Today, however, in Eastbourne, she really was out of sorts, muttering and frustrated, and unable to get her first serve in. Her opponent, Virginie Razzano an aggressive player under any circumstance, took full advantage of the defending champion's vulnerability. Razzano stood on the baseline to receive most of Radwanska's serves, and took the ball as fast as she could.

The Frenchwoman had trouble closing--she needed four match points--but she has not really displayed any of her characteristic mental weakness lately. Perhaps she has gotten some help, or perhaps she has worked through the issue on her own. At any rate, she was the victor, with a score of 7-6, 7-5.

Also winning today in Eastbourne was Marion Bartoli, who defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1, 6-4. No surprise--grass is not Medina Garrigues' surface to about the same degree as it is Bartoli's.

Caroline Wozniacki had little trouble defeating Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-2, and Aleksandra Wozniak defeated Vera Dushevine 6-1, 6-0 in just 45 minutes.

Razzano and Bartoli will play each other in the semifinals, and Wozniacki and Wozniak will compete. Bartoli is 2-1 against Razzano, and they have never before played each other on grass. Wozniacki is 2-0 against Wozniak, and one of those matches was in the second round of Wimbledon last year.

Dementieva out of AEGON International

Top seed Elena Dementieva was upset today in the third round of the AEGON International by Virginie Razzano, 6-0, 3-6, 7-6. The third set was intense and made for good viewing.

Sadly, there were two retirements today: 7th seed Nadia Petrova retired in her match against Vera Dushevina, and Li Na retired in her match against defending champion and 8th seed Agnieszka Radwanska. Petrova sustained a lower back injury, and Li was put out by an abdominal strain.

6th seed Caroline Wozniacki, who was defeated in Eastbourne last year by Samantha Stosur, turned the tables today, winning their match 6-1, 5-7, 6-1. Stosur had trouble at the net, of all places, and appeared to return to her former, somewhat wobbly, mentality.

Aleksandra Wozniak continued her success with a 7-6, 6-3 victory over 2008 Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie. And Ekaterina Makarova prevailed over Amelie Mauresmo in two very tight sets. The 7-6, 7-6 result reflects tiebreak scores of 10-8 and 15-13. Mauresmo hit eight aces and double-faulted seven times.

Marion Bartoli defeated Anna Chakvetadze, Anabel Medina Garrigues defeated Sybille Bammer, and in doubles, top seeds and defending champions Cara Black and Liezel Huber easily defeated Ana Ivanovic and Sabine Lisicki.

Here is the quarterfinal singles draw:

Virginie Razzano vs. Agnieszka Radwanska
Marion Bartoli vs. Anabel Medina Garrigues
Caroline Wozniacki vs. Ekaterina Makarova
Vera Dushevina vs. Aleksandra Wozniak

Jankovic and Kuznetsova both out in 1st round in Eastbourne

2nd seed Svetlana Kuznetsova won only three games today in her first round AEGON International match against Aleksandra Wozniak. Those three games were all played in the second set. Also going out was 3rd seed Jelena Jankovic, who was defeated by former top 10 player Anna Chakvetadze, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. This score gives Chakvetadze a career lead of 7-3 over Jankovic, who double-faulted nine times during the match.

4th seed Vera Zvonareva, making her first appearance since her unfortunate third round in Charleston, lost to Amelie Mauresmo. Great Britain's top player, Anne Keothavong, also lost in the first round--to Sybille Bammer. And Agnieszka Radwanska handily defeated her younger sister, Urszula.



Aleksandra Wozniak

Medina Garrigues and Ruano Pascual upset in 1st round in Eastbourne

3rd seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual were upset today at the AEGON International by Vera Dushvina and Galina Voskoboeva, 4-6, 7-6, 11-9.

The only other upset occurred in singles qualifying: Top seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez was defeated in straight sets in the final qualifying round by Jarmila Groth.

In singles play, Nadia Petrova and Zheng Jie are through to the second round; they defeated Ana Ivanovic and Carla Suarez Navarro, respectively. Sabine Lisicki, one of the tour's top servers, won only three games against Samantha Stosur, another of the tour's top servers. Since she sustained a shoulder injury and then--immediately after--experienced an abdominal illness, Lisicki has not done much of anything, and going out in the first round in Eastbourne does not help her Wimbledon chances.

Big first round action coming up in Eastbourne

Qualifiers still have to be determined and placed, but even without them, the Eastbourne draw presents some potentially dramatic first rounds:

Alize Cornet vs. Virginie Razzano: If I were Todd Spiker, I might say "What happens when you drop a couple of pastries onto the grass?" What indeed. Neither is known for grass play, and these days, Cornet isn't known for much of any kind of play. Still, it could be an interesting match.

Gisela Dulko vs. Marion Bartoli: Despite Dulko's considerable skills, she is not a grass court player. Bartoli is, but Dulko--if her serve is on--could still make it interesting.

Caroline Wozniacki vs. Alisa Kleybanova: She's a clay court star, but how will Wozniacki do against big hitter Kleybanova?

Samantha Stosur vs. Sabine Lisicki: This one has the most potential for drama. Or at least it would if Lisicki were match-tough. An injury, followed by an illness, kept her out of the clay court season, except for the French Open, and she was simply not prepared to compete there. Her big serving and deft net play should work well on grass, and--if she's up to it--she can make this a real contest.

Amelie Maursmo vs. Vera Zvonareva: This match will mark Zvonareva's return to the tour following an accident she sustained in Charleston. She'll be rusty, but she could still give the 2006 Wimbledon champion some trouble.

Nadia Petrova vs. Ana Ivanovic: Petrova was last year's finalist; she lost--in a very entertaining match--to Agnieszka Radwanska. Though the Russian is a clay expert, she has a big serve and a lot of doubles skills, and can do well on a grass court.