In the All-American final at the 2019 Eastbourne International, Taylor Fritz beat his compatriot Sam Querrey straight sets 6-3 6-4 to claim his first ATP title in his career.
Speaking after his press conference, Fritz said: “It’s, like, it’s unbelievable. The feeling still hasn’t fully set in. I have wanted to win a title for so long, ever since making the final in Memphis when I was so young. So it’s been — you know, I have been thinking about it for a long time. I’m so happy I finally got it.”
Fritz was in control throughout the whole match and Querrey could not find any rhythm to play the match on his own terms. Whenever there was a opportunity for Querrey to break back and even the match, Fritz looked focus and seemed to always come up with a first serve to extend his lead.
I asked Fritz in the press conference whether he agreed with this idea and he commented: “Yeah, like I just said, I feel like I can always come up with my best in the big moments, or if I’m not playing my best, I can just kind of find a way to tough it out and come through in those moments. It’s one of the biggest strengths that I have. Yeah, it’s just coming up with what I need when I need it.”
He also credited his coaching team composed of Paul Annacone and David Nainkin that helped him reach this point of his career.
“One thing we have all worked on as a team so much is working on my net game and coming into net more, because with the big groundstrokes, you get a lot of, you know, balls that you can finish the point at the net. So it’s been a long process trying to work on that.
“We are still working on it. We have worked a lot on my serve consistency, because one thing that’s been a problem about me winning a title or going deep is I’ll serve good, serve good, serve good, and then just have one day where I can’t put a serve in the court. We have worked a lot on that. My serve’s improved so much.”
“That’s one thing I stress to them as a player, telling the coach, is I want to improve, you know, where I’m not that good but I also want to strengthen my best shots so they become even more dominant, and so that’s something we have all worked on. And also tons of work in the gym, getting stronger, getting faster. Yeah, it’s all showing.”
Fritz will have little time to celebrate, as he will have to face former Wimbledon finalist, Tomas Berdych, in the first round at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, on the women’s side, the second seed Karolina Pliskova defeated the defending Wimbledon champion, Angelique Kerber comfortably in straight sets 6-1 6-4 to claim her second Eastbourne International title.
Interview with Bethanie Mattek-Sands from Eastbourne 2019 Eric Han for Tennis Atlantic
I had the pleasure of talking to former world no.1 in doubles, five time Grand Slam doubles champion, and Olympic mixed doubles gold medalist, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, after her semifinals doubles victory with her partner Kirsten Flipkens. The video and the transcript of the interview is below.
Q: First tournament back since the Australian Open, and now you’re in final. Congratulations. How do you feel?
Bethanie Mattek-Sands: It feels really good. I mean, for me I’ve been enjoying each match. Having a surgery, going through the rehab. I think you learn to appreciate the moment a little bit. And I’ve been having a blast with Flipkens, it was a last minute partnership. And she’s a good a friend off the court. I mean, she won last week on grass, so I felt I picked up a partner that was on good momentum. The things she comes up with that net is super impressive, so I really enjoyed playing with Kirsten out there.
Q: What did you think of the match? When you were down 5-8 in the super tiebreak, what did you say to Kirsten or what did Kirsten say to you to keep motivating each other?
Bethanie Mattek-Sands: In all honesty, I’m going to be honest. On the 10 point tiebreakers, I lose track of score a lot. I’m relying on someone to tell me to I need to switch sides. It’s one thing to play the tiebreak to seven, but to play it to ten, I feel like it keeps going. So I’m like next point, alright next point, you’re serving, I’m serving, we’re returning, here’s the play.
So, I feel like, even though I wasn’t quite aware of the score, we had a good game plan. Flippers (Flipkens) is a positive person anyway, so I feel like we both have good energy out there and that’s kind of the key whether you’re up or down and its what win matches and we were able to close it out.
Q: You’ve played both singles and doubles in your career what would you say are the differences? What do you have to adjust when you have to play singles and doubles?
Bethanie Mattek-Sands: You definitely adjust your targets. I just think they are two different game plans. I mean, you do have some players that play singles and very good doubles players. Then you have some singles players, that don’t play a lot of doubles. I think there’s a big aspect of communication, a big aspect of a different strategy, and I don’t even like to kind of compare them. I feel when I’m getting ready for a doubles match, it’s a different strategy when I’m getting ready for singles. It’s still a little bit different, I think it’s fun to have your partner out there, someone to talk to. Singles, you’re out there by yourself and it’s a different game. And for right now, I’m playing doubles and mixed doubles at Wimbledon, double here. So I get to have someone to talk to, have my partner. So I’m just really enjoying it,
Q: Ash Barty, who you’ve played against in singles and doubles a few times. She won her maiden Grand Slam in Paris last month. Were you surprised that her first singles Grand Slam was on clay, rather than on Wimbledon as people thought that’s her preferred surface?
Bethanie Mattek-Sands: No, I don’t think so. I feel like she has actually won Rome doubles last year. And I think she won it again it this year. She’s an all court player, and I think right now if you have an all-court game, you can play on any surface. You can transition from clay, to hard, to grass. She mixes in that slice really well and comes to the net. And I feel like you can come to the net on all surfaces. And that’s going to be a good game plan. I don’t see her changing it up for grass. She’s an exciting player to watch, and I’ll be rooting for her.
Q: Speaking about Ash, she took time away from tennis to play cricket because she felt too much pressure, tension. Considering how long a tennis season is, nearly 11 months, do you think it is more beneficial for players to take mental health breaks?
Bethanie Mattek-Sands: You know what, I gotta give her a lot of credit for doing that. Because she came out of juniors, and she was a highly touted junior. I played her actually, one of her first tournaments, in Hobart I think a long time ago. And she was a great junior player. And for her to say, its too much pressure, I’m not enjoying it. Because Ash is one of these players, she really enjoys going out there, she plays smooth, she plays her game, she talks about playing her brand of tennis. And I really give her a lot of credit for taking that break. And I don’t think its the worst thing. For me, my breaks have come from injuries. I’ve been out for some months at times and it wasn’t necessarily my choice. I think it’s not only good for the body, but also for the mind, tennis is a game and it is a long season, so I think it’s important to kind of to take your breaks when you can and enjoy it. I pick and choose the tournaments I want to play, but I give myself weeks off and days off. After a long swing of tournaments, I’ll take a couple of days to enjoy somewhere around the world. Otherwise, it’s just playing, trains, automobiles, courts, practice, and it’s just kind of this vicious cycle till November. So I think that’s helped me a lot, but again, I’ve taken some time off for my injuries and enjoyed my life off the court, so I think balance is important- really really important.
Q: Do you have any examples in your own career that you should’ve felt I could’ve taken a mental health break? Because it was too much for me, the media attention or whatever. Do you have any examples?
Bethanie Mattek-Sands: For me, like I said, I took some time off around my injuries. And you know, it’s easy to say I was forced to take some time off. But I think I decided to rather than feel pressured to come back quick, I really enjoyed my time at home. I enjoyed my time with friends, and I think that’s the biggest shift of my career. If you would’ve talked to me when I was younger, I would’ve said I maybe burned out myself a little and didn’t enjoy tennis. And thinking back, it makes me a little sad, because tennis is a fun game, and even though there is pressure, and that’s why you have a team around you. And that’s why you have a normal life outside of tennis. And when I see that players that kind of have some good balance, they are generally the ones that play longer, they play the season, they can deal with losing early, and then those wins because week to week, you could be at a high, and next week you lose first round four days later! So I think it’s important to have a good balance and I feel like I’ve been able to do that, within my schedule.
Q: Yesterday, it was announced the Fed Cup would change its format to the Davis Cup. I spoke with Simona Halep yesterday about it in the press conference, she said she would possibly boycott it. Because she won’t be able to feel the atmosphere at home. What do you think?
Bethanie Mattek-Sands: You know what? It’s a topic we’ve talked about a lot over the last few years. We needed to find a way that the Fed Cup could fit in our schedule as well. The final was played in November, then we had two other weeks. It was tough to add more weeks onto the player’s schedules. So we’re gonna continue the talks right now. I’m actually on the player’s council, so we’re gonna talk to the ITF, the Fed Cup, and kind of come up with a win-win scenario and see what we can do about it. I think it’s very important for everyone to represent their country. I will say that, we come to tournaments like Eastbourne, it says Bethanie Mattek-Sands, and it says USA. We’re all really proud of our countries, whether we’re playing Fed Cup or Olympics or just week to week in the tournaments. But I think, it’s important to get behind some of these countries and get them excited about tennis, and their players, and that’s really my goal with Fed Cup. It’s how we can create that excitement with all these different countries and getting behind these local girls!
Q: Since we are on the topic of playing for your own country. Next year is the Olympics. Do you have any goals or have any given any thought to it?
Bethanie Mattek-Sands: Of course! Rio was my first Olympics, and I got a gold with Jack Sock in mixed doubles. So one of the big goals right now is to make the 2020 team. There’s a lot of time between now and then, a lot of tournaments. So it’s definitely in the horizon, but I would love to be in Tokyo. It was such a great experience in Rio, that I want to do it again.
Q: On the men’s side there is the Laver Cup. It has become a huge success, mainly due to the players showing a lot of passion for the event. Would you like to see the women’s being incorporated? Or perhaps creating a women’s only event similar to the Laver Cup. Would this be something you are interested in to take part?
Bethanie Mattek-Sands: Definitely! I would definitely take part. I think it’s one of the fun things to watch the Laver Cup for is how excited the players are getting out of it They have a short scoring short format, and makes the games and points exciting. They really did a great job on social media, everyone’s posting about it. They did a great job on fan engagement and interaction, and I think that’s what fans want, they want to get close and get in the action with the players, and they want to see the emotions, and I think it was a great competition. The women’s will definitely have something, whether that’s with the men with Laver cup or our own thing. We’ll definitely do something like that in the future
Q: Who would your dreams mixed doubles and doubles partner be from Team World?
Bethanie Mattek-Sands: I mean, Team World is stacked! I won with Jack (Sock), he’s unreal in doubles. When he gets those forehands, he punishes the ball, so I’m gonna throw Jack out there again. Women’s doubles from Team World… I’m going to have to go with…. so, Australia, I’m going to ask Ash Barty.
Q: Last question, Olympic singles gold medal, or a Grand Slam singles runners up?
Bethanie Mattek-Sands: Or a runners up?! You gotta go with the win. I think they’re both important. I mean, Olympics comes every four years so its a little bit more unique. But I want it all! Who doesn’t want it all? I want all the trophies!
Quarterfinal day here at the Eastbourne International gave the fans plenty of excitement as it not only featured the top seeds of the tournament, but also home crowd favourites Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans. The marquee match arguably was on the women’s as two former world no.1’s, Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep, battled it out for a place in the semifinals tomorrow.
Eventually, the current reigning Wimbledon champion, Kerber, defeated Halep comfortably in straight sets 6-4 5-3.
After the match, Simona Halep commented on how good Kerber played today: “She played really well today. I didn’t play bad. I think that I missed a little bit too much in some points, important points, and I didn’t take my chances. Also, in the second set, first game, I had 40-15 on my serve and I couldn’t take the game. But in my opinion, it was a good match.
When asked about her expectations about looking forward to Wimbledon: “Expectations are pretty okay in my head, but I don’t put pressure. Just match by match, and we will see how good I can be on grass this year.
Meanwhile, the battle of the Brits took place as British no.1 Kyle Edmund played his countryman Dan Evans. After dropping the first set 6-1, Edmund upped his intensity and won the subsequent two sets 6-3 6-4 and booked his place in the semifinals.
In his press conference after his match, Edmund said: “A poor start in terms of getting in the match. Like, you could say, yeah, credit to Dan for sort of putting his stamp on it. But also, I think I could have done a lot better and a lot more to stop that or put a bit more of my stamp on it.”
“But the best thing from that is to react to it, and I did. Just got more engaged. Put my sort of personality and engagement into the match and my game almost. I have good ability to be aggressive and take control of rallies and games, so it was really good for me, obviously not playing a lot of matches”
Other notable results worthy of mention are the third seed Kiki Bertens beating the eighth seed Belarusian, Aryna Sabalenka, in a three-set thriller 6-4 3-6 6-4. On the men’s side, two youngsters battled it out as Taylor Fritz beat Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-4 7-6.
Tomorrow’s semifinal on the men’s side will be Brit Kyle Edmund taking on America’s Taylor Fritz and qualifier Thomas Fabbiano playing America’s Sam Querrey.
On the women’s side, the two semifinal matches will be the defending Wimbledon champion, Angelique Kerber taking on Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur and Czech’s Karolina Pliskova playing Kiki Bertens of Netherlands.
The biggest shock on Day 4 at the Eastbourne International was British women’s number one, Johanna Konta, beaten by world no. 62, Ons Jabeur in straight sets 6-3 6-2.
After the match, Konta analysed her match and said: “Well, to be honest, I mean, I think I just played an opponent who played very well today. I didn’t feel like I actually did too much wrong. Actually, I don’t think I did anything wrong. There is very few things I could have tried differently or more of, but to be honest, I actually thought I did quite well in the amount of questions I asked my opponent today, and she just was answering them every time.”
“It’s just she played incredibly well. She was able to get back balls from different positions of the court and hit winners from different positions of the court. Any changes of rhythm that I actually tried to give, yeah, she was just able to find her range and find her game from any balls that I gave her, which obviously makes it quite difficult for me not to be able to kind of put her on the back foot at all.”
When asked about whether she tried to change anything strategically in the game, Konta said: “I tried to obviously sometimes slow down the balls a bit because I know she absorbs pace very well. And then I tried to speed it up, because I tried to get at it that way. I tried to sometimes go through the middle a bit more. She was moving around the ball quite well. So then I tried to move it out wide.”
“She was moving well out wide (smiling). So then I tried to use slower slices. I tried to use faster slices. I actually thought I varied my serve quite well. I went through pretty much every serve I can hit.”
On the men’s side, the top two seeds were eliminated. America’s Taylor Fritz defeated the number one seed, Guido Pella in three close sets, 6-4 3-6 6-4. Also, the number two seed Laslo Djere was eliminated by qualifier Thomas Fabbiano in two tiebreak sets 7-6 7-6.
Looking ahead to Thursday, the marquee match on the women’s side will be former world no. 1 Simona Halep taking on defending Wimbledon champion, Angelique Kerber.
On the men’s side, it is the battle of the Brits, as British no.1 Kyle Edmund playing against his compatriot Dan Evans.
Edmund commented about his upcoming Evans match “He’s seeing the ball well. It’s another opportunity for me just in the match itself, forgetting about Dan… I just gotta get out there and play my best, really. Last few days I have been in a good place playing. I liked how I transferred that to the match court today. Hopefully I can keep improving.”
“Dan’s game is obviously, backhand probably 75% is slicing or something. I think there will be a bit more longer rallies with Dan because he slows up the ball a lot more.”
British no.1 Johanna Konta came through two tough sets today 6-4 7-6, against Greece’s Maria Sakkari to advance to the next round at the Eastbourne International.
After the match, Konta said: “Maria played well, to be honest. Yeah, no, I’m pleased I was able to stay calm and also just a good perspective. I don’t think anything major happened. It was important to see it that way and see the good things that I was doing. Yeah, I mean, it could have easily gone to a third set, so I definitely wasn’t taking anything for granted out there. Yeah, just pleased to have just, yeah, kept a good perspective and just competed well.”
“I’m very pleased to come through that. I think there was so little in it and in both sets. Our points actually felt that she was playing better than me, so I was just really pleased that I was able to stay with her and create a few opportunities and take a few of them. So, yeah, pleased I have come through.”
She will face Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in the third round, who she played back in 2015 in Sydney qualifying- a match that the Brit won comfortably in straight sets 6-2 6-2.
British player Dan Evans also came through today by beating Moldova’s Radu Albot 7-6 6-2. In the press conference, he said: “Today I felt a bit flat at the start but got into it. You know, I hung around a
lot last week, played dubs. So I was a bit lethargic at the start, but I thought I got going and I’m pretty happy with the end of that match. Yeah, it was a good match. It’s a great week for me.”
When asked about his thoughts about being back again competing in Eastbourne, Evans commented, “Yes, I mean, it’s nice to being back here, having another good match on grass before Wimbledon. That’s why I’m here. I like to play here on (the) grass, so I try to enjoy every match and every moment right now.”
Defending Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber had a tricky match-up as she played former top world 10 player, Samantha Stosur, but nevertheless prevailed in straight sets 6-4 6-4.
In her press conference, she discussed the differences between winning her maiden Grand Slam title in Australia and winning Wimbledon last year. “I think after I won Australia, a lot of things change. I mean, especially in Germany. It was so huge that someone after Steffi won the first Grand Slam, and, yeah, without expectation, I played in Australia and everything.”
“And of course then to winning Wimbledon as my third Grand Slam was even more special, because it was not just that I had the lucky draw or I just won my first one. It was my third one. And Wimbledon was always the tournament that I really would like to win one day.”
Other notable mentions are sixth seed Simona Halep taking out Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei 6-2 6-0 and Caroline Wozniacki beating Andrea Petkovic 6-4 6-4.
Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils will contest an all-wildcard Eastbourne International final after defeating Daniil Medvedev and Richard Gasquet in Friday’s semi-finals.
The Serb ultimately ran out a comfortable winner against his Russian opponent 6-4 6-4, but Monfils was made to tough it out for his victory, eventually triumphing in a third set tiebreak.
But there was disappointment for home hopeful Johanna Konta who was forced to withdraw prior to her match with Karolina Pliskova due to a thoracic spine injury, plunging her Wimbledon prospects into serious doubt. To compound British woes, Heather Watson suffered an agonising three-set loss to 2009 Eastbourne champion Caroline Wozniacki in the other women’s semi-final, falling 7-5 in the third.
Medvedev misses opportunities against Djokovic
While Medvedev should take heart from competing hard versus Djokovic, he’ll go away contemplating a collection of opportunities – particularly in the opening set – that could have made it a much harder afternoon’s work for the former world number one.
After clumsily succumbing from 40-0 up on serve in the first game of the match, the Russian bounced back with a break in the fourth game, and arguably looked in control at various points, especially in the eighth game when he manufactured three break points to move 5-3 clear – however his inability to grasp one would prove costly.
Djokovic snuck out of the game, proceeded to break a frustrated Medvedev to 15 minutes later, before wrapping up the set with no drama. The top seed continued to dominate early in the second, breaking the Medvedev serve once more as he reeled off five games in succession across the two sets.
Medvedev, ranked 52 in the world, stayed competitive for the rest of the second set and forced Djokovic to serve it out, saving a match point on his own delivery, but he was to make no mistake, routinely holding to 15.
After the match, Djokovic said: “I’m really glad that I’ll be able to fight for the trophy tomorrow. I haven’t had too many opportunities to fight for the trophy in the last 10 to 12 months. I’m hoping that I can continue on this path of raising my performance and the quality of tennis.”
He was also complimentary about his stay in the sunny seaside town of Eastbourne, the first time.
“I am undoubtedly enjoying this week and the fact that I’m in the final obviously makes it even better. But I felt very welcomed from the first day by the people in Eastbourne,” continued Djokovic.
Monfils shows mental fortitude to best Gasquet
A strong mentality isn’t always associated with Monfils’ game, but it was the world number 16’s nerve which ended up being pivotal against his compatriot.
The first set was vintage Monfils, as he swooped around the back of the court blazing heavy groundstrokes, combined with some neat net play to take it 6-2.
Gasquet lost serve once more midway through the second set, but was offered a route back in as Monfils was broken for the first time immediately after. The latter reached the precipice of victory once more in the 10th game, mustering two match points on the Gasquet serve, but was unable to convert as the set went to a breaker.
Despite racing to a 4-0 lead, Monfils pinned back the deficit to 5-4, and then a 7-6 lead to eke out a third match point. But once more, Gasquet displayed resilience, saving it before nicking the set 9-7.
Undeterred, Monfils seized the initiative with an early break and continued to hold with relative comfort. Given past happenings though, it was no surprise to see a much frailer Monfils when it came to the crunch. Three errant forehands gifted Gasquet a lifeline late on, somewhat inevitably setting up another tiebreak.
An early double fault from Monfils would have been costlier had Gasquet not responded in kind, but he did and seemed oddly edgier than his opponent at this sudden death stage. Four straight points gave Monfils command, and when a fourth match point arrived at 6-4, he clinched it with a booming unreturnable serve to win 6-2 6-7(7) 7-6(4).
Monfils will go for his seventh ATP singles title in 26 tries on Saturday – and sixth at 250 level – while Djokovic hopes to claim his 68th but only his second of the year.
Watson’s run to the semis of a stacked WTA Premier draw has been the surprise of the week in Eastbourne, and the plucky Brit dared to dream of making the final, roaring back from a set and a break down to push the Dane the distance in the day’s opening match.
The world number 126 even moved a break up in the third, but meekly handed it back in the next game, losing it to love. No quarter was given either way thereon until the last, when Watson gave up two break points. She saved the first but not the second as Wozniacki put herself in a position to win her second Eastbourne International title, eight years after her first.
Pliskova’s bye ensures she will be fresh for the final in what has been a hectic week for the players due to the rain-affected schedule. Konta now faces an agonising weight to see whether she will be fit for Wimbledon, but defiantly said: “I’m doing everything I can to be ready.”
Bob and Mike Bryan notched their 113th doubles title and their first in Eastbourne with a 6-7(4) 7-6 10-3 triumph over Rohan Bopanna and Andre Sa in the final on Court 1.
Earlier in the day, the Bryans beat Andre Begemann and Andres Molteni 7-6(1) 6-4 to make the championship match, while Bopanna/Sa got there courtesy of a 7-6(4) 3-6 11-9 win over Robin Haase/Dominic Inglot.
In the women’s doubles, Ashleigh Barty/Casey Dellacqua beat the third-seeded pairing of Timea Babos/Andrea Hlavackova 6-2 6-3 in the first semi-final, before Yung-jan Chan/Martina Hingis romped past Nicole Melichar/Anna Smith 6-0 6-1 in just 43 minutes.
Saturday’s schedule
Pliskova and Wozniacki are set to take to the court at 12.15pm local time on Saturday, with Djokovic and Monfils due on not before 2pm. The women’s doubles final between Barty/Dellacqua and Chan/Hingis will follow.
Johanna Konta and Heather Watson soar through to semis on hectic day in Eastbourne Elliot Cornish for Tennis Atlantic
Johanna Konta and Heather Watson surged into the semi-finals of the Eastbourne International, both claiming third round and quarter-final victories within a matter of hours on a bumper day.
Konta battled past French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko in three gripping sets before downing world number one Angelique Kerber 6-3 6-4 to conclude the day’s play, as she thrived on the Centre Court billing. Watson was left to work her magic on the outside courts, but strolled past 14th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-3, and then overcame Barbora Strycova 6-1 1-6 6-4 in an encounter full of momentum swings.
Konta will now meet last year’s runner-up Karolina Pliskova in the semis, after the Czech bounced back from a 4-2 deficit in the final set to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova. Pliskova’s third round victory triumph came courtesy of a straight sets win over Peng Shuai; Kuznetsova reached the quarter-final stage with a victory over Kristina Mladenovic.
Watson will go up against former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, after the Dane rallied from a set down to take out Simona Halep 5-7 6-4 6-1. Wozniacki had previously beaten Elena Vesnina 6-1 6-2 in the third round, while Halep sneaked past Tsvetana Pironkova 6-7(6) 7-6(4) 7-5.
In the men’s draw, Novak Djokovic edged Donald Young 6-2 7-6(9) to reach the last four, but was made to work in the second set, with Young unable to convert while serving for it. The Serb’s semi-final opponent will be Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, who secured two impressive wins over Robin Haase and fourth seed Steve Johnson, both in three sets.
Meanwhile, Richard Gasquet showcased perhaps his best form of the season, dispatching Kevin Anderson 6-4 6-4 in the early morning, before coming back to take out another big server, John Isner, 6-3 6-2 in rapid fashion. An all-French last four clash was ensured by Gael Monfils, who returned after seeing off British wildcard Cameron Norrie to defeat Bernard Tomic 7-6(4) 6-0 on Court 1 in the quarter finals.
Konta brings Ostapenko down to earth
Ostapenko, fresh from her French Open win, came into her third round match against Konta full of confidence, not least as a Grand Slam champion but by winning her last five tour matches in final set deciders.
The Latvian assumed early control, breaking at the first opportunity with her incisive backhand causing numerous problems for Konta. However, the Brit dug in and got back into the contest, before snatching the opener on her third set point against the Ostapenko serve.
Konta looked to strike decisively early in the second, and almost broke Ostapenko early, but the steely 20-year-old kept swinging hard and confidently, and reaped the rewards by breaking in the seventh game, and handily once more at 5-3 to eliminate the pressure of serving for the set.
Ostapenko seemed in control, but faltered from 40-0 up to drop serve in the third game of the decider. Yet Konta was unable to seize on her rival’s mistakes, losing her next two service games as a fiery Ostapenko established a 4-2 advantage.
But in typically unpredictable WTA fashion, the Roland Garros victor capitulated from thereon. Most costly for Ostapenko was her forehand, which splayed numerous errors, although an errant ball toss – which she should have caught – contributed to an all-round malfunction as Konta gladly accepted consecutive breaks. She then eventually snuck over the line on her third match point, to the delight of the home crowd.
Djokovic impresses against Young before scraping through
Djokovic’s duel with Young was certainly a match of two halves, with both responsible for the fluctuations. The opening set would have been precisely what the Serb was hoping for from his stay in Eastbourne, cruising through it 6-2 and appearing at ease.
But the past 12 months have been far from plain sailing for the 12-time Slam champion, and Young’s improved level combined with a Djokovic drop off made for a tasty second set. The American proved tougher, saving two break points early on to keep up. However, as the crunch point arrived, a few signs of Djokovic’s frailties emerged, particularly on the forehand – a shot he got stuck and collapsed on at times. Young grabbed a break to move 5-4 up as Djokovic wobbled, but he stumbled too as the latter broke back after saving a set point.
A tight tiebreak followed, with Young getting another set point at 6-5, however he did little wrong, with Djokovic serving big out wide. An untimely double fault for Young at 9-9 was pivotal though, as Djokovic got the win in one hour and 37 minutes.
Friday’s schedule
The women’s semi-finals and men’s semi-finals will be played in that order on Centre Court on Friday.
Wildcard Watson and Wozniacki start things off at 11am and will be followed by Pliskova v Konta.
Djokovic and Medvedev will take to the court not before 1pm, before Gasquet and Monfils round off the Centre Court action in what strikes as the match of the day.
In the doubles, Bob and Mike Bryan play Andre Begemann and Andres Molteni first on Court 1 in their semi-final, with Robin Haase/Dominic Inglot v Rohan Bopanna/Andre Sa due on for theirs simultaneously on Court 2. The men’s doubles final is scheduled last on Court 1 on Friday.
Ashleigh Barty/Casey Dellacqua v Timea Babos/Andrea Hlavackova are second on Court 1 for the women’s doubles semis, and will be followed by Nicole Melichar/Anna Smith v Yung-Jan Chan/Martina Hingis.
Pliskova and Cibulkova to Contest WTA Eastbourne Final Elliot Cornish for Tennis Atlantic
Karolina Pliskova and Dominika Cibulkova will contest the Aegon International after the two won their quarter-finals and semi-finals on Friday in Eastbourne.
Pliskova made short work of Elena Vesnina, before ending the challenge of British number one Johanna Konta in three sets in the last four. Cibulkova overturned a deficit against Agniezska Radwanska in the last eight, before seeing off Monica Puig easily in the semi-finals later in the afternoon.
Konta had bettered her run to the quarter-finals here last year, overcoming Ekaterina Makarova – who defeated her in 2015 – to set up the semi-final with Pliskova. Initially, it appeared as if the Briton would make the final of her home tournament as she edged the first set 7-6, taking the breaker 7-5.
However, Pliskova asserted herself as the match wore on, breaking half way through the second set on her way to winning it 6-3. Konta, who had prevailed 6-0 in a deciding set earlier in the week against Petra Kvitova, fell two breaks behind early and, despite a brief revival, she was unable to overturn the deficit.
“So far, I’m happy with the tennis the way I’m playing here this week. This was the toughest match this week but happy to be through,” said Pliskova.
There was a brief moment of drama for Konta when she fell during the second set, with fears rising when she began crying and hobbling. But any fears were quickly quelled, and the world number 17 was able to complete the match with no further issues.
Looking to allay concerns afterwards, Konta said: “I was only limping straight after just because the way the fall happened. I couldn’t actually get up because my body spasmed up a bit. And then it’s fine.”
Earlier in the day, Pliskova stormed past Elena Vesnina, picking up a brisk 6-1 6-3 triumph in just over an hour. The Czech cruised to a 4-0 lead as she won the first set in just 24 minutes, and she faced few dramas in the second, dropping serve just once throughout the match.
Rain on Thursday saw Cibulkova’s match with Radwanska suspended with the former a set behind, but the determined Slovak battled hard, bringing the second set back on serve before prevailing in the tie-break with typically punchy play.
A cagey deciding set remained on serve until the seventh game, when the 12th seed broke through the Pole’s serve, before holding and breaking again to wrap up the contest 4-6 7-6 6-3.
Few troubles greeted Cibulkova in her semi-final bout against qualifier Puig, who enjoyed a fruitful week in the pre-Wimbledon event. After closing out the opening set 6-2, Cibulkova raced through the second 6-1 in a dominant performance that took just an hour and 15 minutes.
Puig was broken four times while Cibulkova saved the only break point she faced. However, the productive week will see the Puerto Rican rise to a new career-high ranking of 36.
Final Preview
Cibulkova and Pliskova have played only once previously, on a hardcourt in Kuala Lumpur two years ago. On that occasion it was the former who won, edging a three-set battle.
However, not much can be gleaned from match in regard to the upcoming one. For Pliskova to win, she will be reliant on her serve winning plenty of free points – against Konta, she dealt a total of 12 aces.
For Cibulkova, the grass courts allow her compact style to thrive when in the zone. When firing, her forceful groundstrokes are potent, so expect the Slovak to try and control play from the baseline. Her ability to get Pliskova’s serves back in court and challenging her to play the extra ball may determine whether she is holding up the winner’s trophy.
Cibulkova is in search of her second title of the year, having won in Katowice two months ago.
Pliskova, however, is in a rich vein of form having triumphed in Nottingham earlier in the month. On that evidence and her showings this week in Eastbourne, she will be very difficult to stop in Saturday’s showpiece.
Doubles
In the doubles event, the pairing of Darija Jurak and Anastasia Rodionova will take on the Chinese Taipei duo of Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan in the final.
Jurak/Rodionova have breezed through the tournament so far – sealing an impressive win versus Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza in the quarter-finals – and secured a rapid 6-2 6-1 victory over Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Kveta Peschke in the semis.
The second-seeded Chans pinched a 6-1 1-6 10-6 win over Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova in their last four match.
Recapping Tuesday and Wednesday at WTA Eastbourne 2016 Elliot Cornish for Tennis Atlantic
Tuesday:
Defending champion Belinda Bencic was dumped out of the Aegon International on Tuesday, suffering a second-round defeat to Russia’s Elena Vesnina.
Both sets of the near two-hour battle went to tie-breaks, after Bencic gave up break advantages in both sets. The 19-year-old then spurned two set points at 6-5 in the second, when given the opportunity to send the match to a decider.
Vesnina, who is ranked 53 in the world, had more guile in the bigger moments, and picked up the win on her fourth match point, to book a third-round meeting with qualifier Madison Brengle.
Home favourite Johanna Konta defeated Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko in straight-sets in front of the day’s biggest crowd.
The 11th seed, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals in January and has risen to 18th in the world, was not at her best but ground hard in a tough opening set which could have gone either way.
After nearly an hour, plenty of chances were presented to Konta when Tsurenko served at 5-5 in a marathon game full of unforced errors from both. The Brit didn’t manage to get the break, but proved tougher than Tsurenko in the tie-break, taking it 7-4.
A much different tale unfolded in set two, with Konta snaring a pair of breaks to race into a 5-0 lead, before wrapping up the match 7-6 6-1 on her second match point.
Konta will play two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the third round after the latter overcame Timea Babos in the opening match on Centre Court.
The Czech was made to work on her most prolific surface, but ultimately had too much for her Hungarian adversary, closing out a 6-4 7-6 triumph in one hour and 48 minutes.
Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska was given an easy path into the third round after Mirjana Lucic-Baroni was forced to retire.
The Pole was leading 6-4 2-1 before her Croatian opponent determined she could no longer continue. It had been an intriguing battle until then, with Lucic-Baroni’s hard, flat groundstrokes proving troublesome for Radwanska’s style, and the former perhaps should have taken command of the contest.
After slipping a break behind early, Lucic-Baroni levelled at 3-3, but couldn’t capitalise after taking the first two points of her Radwanska’s next service game. She then meekly conceded the set while serving at 4-5 with an error-strewn game.
Yet after being broken to start the second, Radwanska looked set to have to scrap further in her opening match of the week. However, Lucic-Baroni’s racket misfired again as she surrendered her serve, before retiring shortly after.
Former champion Caroline Wozniacki made short work of seventh seed Sam Stosur in a second round encounter that was cancelled on Monday. The Dane was potent on the Australian’s serve, breaking four times as she cruised to a 6-2 6-1 win in an hour and eight minutes.
Wozniacki was rock solid on serve, saving all four break points that she faced. She faced Monica Puig in the third round, after the Puerto Rican was handed a pass into the third round, when her opponent Ana Konjuh retired while trailing 6-1 5-3. Second seed and US Open finalist Roberta Vinci was upstaged by Ekaterina Makarova in three sets on Court 1. The Russian, who beat Heather Watson on Monday, came back from a set down to win 4-6 6-4 6-3 and set a last 16 date with Andrea Petkovic, who beat another Italian in Sara Errani. Eugenie Bouchard continued her good form, seeing off Irina Camelia-Begu in swift fashion. The Canadian eased to a 6-3 6-1 victory and will take on Radwanska on Wednesday, a match which will give a better assessment of where her level currently is. Karolina Pliskova made short work of Daria Gavrilova, but is due a tougher challenge next against Kristina Mladenovic, who beat Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in three sets.
It was a busy day in Eastbourne with many first round matches that were canceled due to rain on Monday having to be played early on Tuesday, leaving many players having to pull double duty. However, a dry day has allowed the tournament to get back on schedule, and with good weather forecast for the rest of the week, the event should have no further scheduling dramas.
Wednesday:
Britain’s Johanna Konta stunned two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova with a come-from-behind victory in the third round of the Aegon International in Eastbourne. Konta, who lives in the seaside town, fought back after disappointment in the opening set to record a 5-7 6-4 6-0 win in front of a partisan crowd. The win sees the 11th seed match her Eastbourne performance from last year, while Kvitova – whose movement looked poor in the closing stages – heads to Wimbledon with questions. After a steady start, Konta grabbed the initiative, racing into a 5-2 lead courtesy of some effective shot-making and inconsistency from her opponent. However, when the chance to seal the set presented itself, the Briton faltered, firing a set point long before losing five games in a row – in which she was broken three times – to hand the Czech the set.
There was enough evidence in that set to suggest Kvitova was not the grass giantess we have become accustomed to seeing. A performance plagued with errors kept Konta interested throughout, and after scraping out another break midway through the second set, the home favourite held firm, serving out the set 6-4 in a tense game which went to deuce.
Yet the grandstand finish didn’t materialise in the way anticipated. As Konta rose to the occasion, Kvitova began to tail away, becoming visibly disinterested and frustrated as the decider wore on. The former raced into an early lead and did not look back, knuckling down and allowing her adversary to make mistakes, particularly off the forehand wing. The tide never turned, as Konta served up a bagel and her first triumph over Kvitova.
Afterwards, Konta said: “There are not words big enough to describe the support you the crowd have shown me. I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.”
Andrea Petkovic or Ekaterina Makarova will be next up for the Eastbourne local in the last eight, with the pair scheduled to finish their match tomorrow – which Petkovic currently leads 1-0 – after rain curtailed play in the early evening. Agnieszka Radwanska, the top seed, had far too much for Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, as she cruised to a 6-3 6-3 success in the second match of the afternoon. The latter appeared to be recapturing some form after comfortably progressing past Varvara Lepchenko and Irina Camelia-Begu, but came unstuck against the wily Pole, who executed her plan well, forcing Bouchard to play the extra ball regularly. Radwanska broke in the third game of the match, and held onto the edge before streaking to the set, winning the last eight points.
The second set was a more topsy-turvy affair with Bouchard taking first blood. However, the world number 48 lost the break immediately before dropping her serve again next time around. Unwilling to die down, she got through Radwanska in the following game. But a sloppy effort at 3-4 provided the world number three with a chance to close out the match on serve, which she did to 30. Dominika Cibulkova will play Radwanska in the quarter finals, after the Slovakian worked past Katerina Bondarenko in two hours on Court 1. The Ukrainian took early command of the first set with an early break, but couldn’t serve out the set as Cibulkova reeled off four games. But the 12th seed was not without nerves either, as Bondarenko broke to move the set into a tie-break, which she lost 7-3. A freer Cibulkova stormed through the first half of the second set, moving 4-0 up, and even though a brief fightback was staged, the diminutive player claimed a 7-6 6-3 win.
Caroline Wozniacki failed to build on her victory over Sam Stosur, losing out in three sets to Monica Puig in the first match of the day. The contest, which began 90 minutes later than expected following rain, looked to be going in the Dane’s favour when she won the first set 6-4. But she lost the momentum late in the second set, when Puig snared a break to move 5-3 up, before serving the set out to 15. The world number 41 won the first two games of the final set, but Wozniacki capitalised on a loose game from Puig make it 2-2. However, the 2009 champion rarely found things easy on serve, and the pressure eventually told. Puig broke in the often-crucial seventh game, and held steady thereafter to chalk up a 4-6 6-3 6-4 win in two hours and 15 minutes.
Puig will now face Kristina Mladenovic, after the Frenchwoman saw off Anna-Lena Friedsam in straight sets.
Elsewhere, Elena Vesnina built on her win over 2015 champion Belinda Bencic, with a 7-6 6-4 defeat of American qualifier Madison Brengle.
Thursday’s matches:
A rain-affected day leaves a scheduling headache for Thursday, with two third-round matches still incomplete. Doi and Pliskova will conclude their match on Court 1 before Petkovic and Makarova resume their battle.
Mladenovic and qualifier Puig are first up on Centre Court, before Radwanska takes on Cibulkova. Vesnina then awaits the winner of Doi-Pliskova, with Konta rounding off the action against Petkovic or Makarova.
British wildcard Johanna Konta continued her fairy tale run at the Aegon International, knocking out Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in three sets in Eastbourne.
The world number 146 once again came out of the blocks quickly, asserting control over her more decorated opponent. Konta maintained her advantage but couldn’t serve out the set, however the Spaniard faltered as well, and was broken to surrender the opener 6-4.
Muguruza settled into the match as it wore on and after moving ahead 2-0 in the second, the rest of the set went on serve – despite the world number 20 having to save five break points – and she took the second, also by a 6-4 scoreline.
In the third, Konta warmed to the challenge, receiving strong support from the British crowd as she stormed into what appeared a match-winning 5-1 lead. However, Muguruza nicked one of the breaks back and held to love to keep the pressure on her Australia-born adversary, but Konta kept her composure, serving out the match in a little under two hours.
In a battle of two former champions, Caroline Wozniacki recovered from a poor conclusion to the first set, to advance past Svetlana Kuznetsova in a high-quality affair.
After surviving a break point in the first game, Wozniacki surged to a 5-1 lead, displaying good movement and her trademark knack of keeping the ball in court. She was, however, broken by Kuznetsova while serving for the set and the Russian capitalised on a flurry of errors from the Dane, breaking twice to get back on serve.
Wozniacki held in the 11th game to edge 6-5 ahead and couldn’t snatch the initiative as Kuznetsova shakily managed to force a tiebreak, which the Russian dominated due to an array of Danish errors, winning it 7-3.
Kuznetsova was broken early though in the second set and after her opponent fought through a tough fourth game, Wozniacki pushed on, breaking once more to level up the match.
She lost momentum though as Kuznetsova took the first game against serve, but Wozniacki refound her groove to roll off six successive games and book a place in the last eight against Andrea Petkovic, who defeated Coco Vandeweghe 6-3 6-4 on Court 1.
On the forthcoming match with Petkovic, Wozniacki said: “Another tough match. We’ve played each other many times and you know she’s had a good year so far, I’m just excited to be in the quarters.
However, there was British disappointment later in the day as Heather Watson fell to Sloane Stephens in straight sets in front of an expectant Centre Court audience.
The Briton struggled to find her rhythm from the off and had already slipped a double-break behind by the time of the first sit down – a combination of unforced errors from Watson and tidy play by the American. Despite sticking around late in the set, Stephens was clinical in wrapping it up 6-2.
Watson worked her way into the battle in the next, but after breaking back to draw level at 2-2, she meekly surrendered her following service game, a blow she was not able to recover from. Stephens offered no further opportunities and, to compound the misery, secured yet another break to complete the win.
Bouchard retirement sees Bencic reach quarters
Eugenie Bouchard retired from her last 16 match against Belinda Bencic while trailing a set and 3-0 with an abdominal injury. The misfortune continues what has been a torrid season for the Canadian and she will enter Wimbledon next week – where she made the final last year – severely undercooked.
The first set of the match was nip and tuck, but Bencic managed to fight off a break point at 3-4 to stay on serve and then she immediately broke the seventh seed in the following game, before serving out the set to 30.
Bouchard’s problems were becoming clearer as the contest wore on, and after slipping behind a double break in the second set she called for the trainer, at which point she decided to pull out.
However, in a bid to allay concerns, she has already commented: “I am going to play Wimbledon no matter what, even if I am on one leg.”
The result moves Bencic into the Eastbourne quarter-finals for the first time – where she will play Konta – and is further indication of the growing prowess of the 18-year-old Swiss, who is currently ranked 31 in the world.
Tsvetana Pironkova brought Dominika Cibulkova’s comeback tournament to an end, roaring back from a set down to defeat the Slovakian on Court 1 at Devonshire Park.
Cibulkova pinched the lead through a tiebreak after a lengthy first set and looked poised to back up her win on Tuesday against Lucie Safarova. However, Pironkova began to excel from thereon and was never in danger after winning the second set, closing out the victory 6-7(4) 6-4 6-1 in two hours and 25 minutes.
Agnieszka Radwańska picked up one of her best triumphs of the season, sailing past eighth seed Karolina Pliskova for the loss of just three games in 56 minutes. The Pole, who has fallen outside the world’s top 10, is due to face Bulgaria’s Pironkova in the quarter-finals.
Daria Gavrilova staved off a second-set resurgence from Sara Errani in the final singles bout of the day on Court 1, making full use of her main draw ticket which came after Petra Kvitova withdrew. Her next obstacle comes in the form of the American Stephens.
Doubles Results
In the last doubles duels of the first round, Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina beat Lara Arruabarrena/Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4 6-0. The second seeds will now play Cara Black/Lisa Raymond after they defeated Monica Niculescu/Arina Rodionova.
Julia Goerges/Lucie Hradecka saw off Anabel Medina Garrigues/Arantxa Parra Santonja 7-6(2) 6-1 to book a meeting with Yung-Jan Chan/Jie Zheng in the final eight.
In the quarter-finals, Caroline Garcia/Katarina Srebotnik progressed past the British team of Jocelyn Rae/Anna Smith after the latter retired upon losing the first set. They will play Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza in the last four, who battled back to take out Hao-Ching Chan/Flavia Pennetta on Centre Court.
Quarter-final schedule
With just four singles matches to be played on Thursday at Devonshire Park now the tournament has reached the quarter-final stage, all of them will take place on Centre Court, with the action scheduled to start at 11.00 A.M.
Pironkova and Radwanska will kick things off before British hopeful Konta takes on Bencic. Then, Gavrilova will continue her quest for a deep run against Stephens, with Wozniacki versus Petkovic set to conclude play in what may well be the match of the day.
In the two remaining doubles quarters, Black/Raymond vs Makarova/Vesnina will follow on from the singles on Centre, while Goerges/Hradecka against Chan/Zheng is due on Court 1 at 1.00pm.
Tennis Atlantic 