Eastbourne isn’t normally thought of as the place that dreams are made. With defending champion Caroline Wozniacki out in the first round, returning championing Kim Clijsters despatched in the quarter-finals and British interest over by the same stage, this year’s Wimbledon warm-up at the seaside seemed in danger of being unremarkable. Look a little deeper however and Eastbourne’s sleepy charm may have thrown up a few things for ladies tennis to think about.
Though playing a definite second fiddle to Queen’s in terms of the men’s event, the ladies line-up at Eastbourne’s Aegon International featured many of the world’s top 20. A repeat of the French Open final between Francesca Schiavone and Sam Stosur beckoned in one half of the draw. Kim Clijsters was back on the grass for the first time in nearly four years. And three British ladies were hoping to make their mark ahead of Wimbledon.
The British youngsters
For one of the Brits, 18-year-old Heather Watson, this week will definitely stick in the memory. Having impressively battled her way through qualifying, the Guernsey-born teenager tasted her first victory in the main draw of a WTA tour event. It was some victory too, defeating Aleksandra Wozniak – ranked 296 places above her at 48 – in straight sets.
Unfortunately the power and experience of Victoria Azarenka proved too much for Watson in the second round, but she can be proud of a run of four successive victories on the grass – all against players older, more experienced and higher ranked than herself. The loss to Belarussian Azarenka should be no source of shame for Watson, however the 6-1 6-1 scoreline demonstrates the distance that she – and her 16-year-old friend and rival Laura Robson – still need to travel in order to compete with the players at the top of the game.
Though not competing in the main event at Eastbourne, Robson was in action on court two in a junior team match versus the USA. She fought hard to beat US number one junior Sloane Stephens in three tight sets on Friday afternoon. The size of the crowd crammed around the edges of the small-time court two to watch Robson highlighted the big-time expectations that surround the 16-year-old.
Both Watson and Robson now have their sights on SW19 with wildcards into the senior draw. After her run on the south coast Watson will take on Italian qualifier Romina Sarina Oprandi, ranked at 140, with confidence. Robson can look ahead to a centre court encounter with world number four Jelena Jankovic. Having taken a set off Daniela Hantuchova at the same stage last year, Robson will no doubt relish the chance to go one step further – with the opportunity for a major upset and the victory of her career.
The British top two
Former British number one Anne Keothavong is still on the long road back to form after a lengthy lay-off through injury. Her first round loss to Hantuchova saw glimpses of what she is capable of, but ultimately the Slovakian proved too much too soon.
Wimbledon will pit Keothavong against Anastasia Rodionova. Though the Austrian is currently ranked 81 places higher than the Brit at 76, Keothavong will be determined to continue her climb back inside the top 50 and will fancy her chances on home turf.
Current British number one Elena Baltacha is at a career high of 62 in the world and has had a highly encouraging season so far. She came through what looked set to be a tight first round battle with number seven seed Li Na at Eastbourne after her opponent retired injured. She was patchy but impressive in despatching Zheng Jie in the second round, and looked capable of providing the upset of the tournament after taking the first set in her quarter-final against Sam Stosur. Sadly for Baltacha the French Open finalist found her serve in the second set and was able to power her way to victory with the loss of only one more game.
Baltacha will feel good about her Wimbledon first round against lower ranked Petra Martic from Croatia, with a likely match-up with Eastbourne semi-finalist Marion Bartoli in the second round.
Britain’s Melanie South and Katie O’Brien have also benefited from wildcards at Wimbledon. South will take on Russia’s Regina Kulikova and O’Brien faces the tough prospect of number 28 seed Alona Bondarenko.
The stealth Russian
The British ladies may have caused ripples at Eastbourne, but the headlines were stolen by a relatively unknown Russian qualifier by the name of Ekaterina Makarova. The 22-year-old made quiet but deadly progress through seed after seed, taking out Flavia Pennetta, Nadia Petrova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Sam Stosur without the loss of a set. In the final, facing a wounded but nonetheless dangerous Victoria Azarenka, Makarova kept her focus and held her nerve to become the first ever qualifier to win the Eastbourne title.
Though Makarova has, briefly, been as high as 35 in the world, she is currently the fifteenth-ranked Russian lady down at 100 and has barely progressed beyond the first round all season. On Eastbourne’s genteel grass she seems to have finally found her feet, happy to soak up her opponents’ power before launching her own attack, breaking down their confidence through her refusal to be dominated.
If the Russian gets through her first round match at Wimbledon she faces a likely second round encounter with number two seed Venus Williams. After her form this week this may well be a tantalising prospect for the fearless 22-year-old.
A healthy state of affairs?
Sponsors of the ladies tour, Sony Ericsson, may have grown accustomed to looking with envy at the depth of talent, rivalry and big personalities currently gracing the men’s game. The signs of late, however, are of the ladies tour waking up from a slumber.
At the very top, the Williams sisters are fully engaged, Henin and Clijsters are back and Sharapova is threatening to recapture her form now that she is fit again. What Eastbourne has demonstrated is that the ladies tour can finally boast some depth to snap at the heels of the top three or four. None of the seeds were safe and there were signs of huge potential from a few players on the way up – some British names among them. This year’s Wimbledon ladies competition looks set to be a juicy one.