Eastbourne

Caroline Wozniacki Squeaks Out Win in Eastbourne – Mondays with Bob Greene

July 2, 2018 by Admin

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Caroline Wozniacki beat Aryna Sabalenka 7-5 7-6 (5) to win the Nature Valley International women’s singles in Eastbourne, Great Britain

Mischa Zverev beat Lukas Lacko 6-4 6-4 to win the Nature Valley International men’s singles in Eastbourne, Great Britain

Damir Dzumhur beat Adrian Mannarino 6-1 1-6 6-1 to win the Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya, Turkey

Kirsten Flipkens beat Katie Boulter 6-4 5-7 6-3 to win the Fuzion 100 Southsea Trophy in Southsea, Great Britain

SAYING

“I was thinking she (Aryna Sabalenka) has played so many sets this week and doubles yesterday, how can she still be so full of energy? Then I recalled she is much younger than me.” – Caroline Wozniacki, after beating Sabalenka to win the Eastbourne women’s singles.

“I will remember playing 17 sets this week. This is what I will remember from this tournament, it’s been amazing.” – Aryna Sabalenka, who went three sets in each victory before losing the Eastbourne final to Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.

“Beating Andy Murray in Australia was special, but there you win a match, you’re still in it and the tournament’s not over. But here you’re the last one standing at the end of the week and you have the trophy, so it’s definitely a very unique feeling.” – Mischa Zverev, after winning the Eastbourne men’s singles title.

“Thanks for all the messages of support and I’m excited to finally be back playing after so long out.” – Andy Murray, in a Facebook message announcing he has pulled out of this year’s Wimbledon, saying his team felt like playing five-set matches was too soon after recovering from hip surgery.

“As a player you work towards being the best, even if it’s not maybe number one in the world but being the best in the tournament in that particular week. You know, there are so many tournaments, but it doesn’t matter. If you’re the last one there on Sunday or Saturday, then that means you were the best in that week at this place. And this is something that everyone works for. It’s just a unique and great feeling.” – Mischa Zverev, whose victory in Eastbourne was his first ATP World Tour title.

“It’s just amazing, it’s been a long time ago since I was here as the winner of this tournament, so it’s great that I can still play almost 10 years later,” Wozniacki, who also won here in 2009, said during the trophy ceremony.
“Expectations are always high. I am not here to play the tournament. I am here to try to have a good result, of course.” – Rafael Nadal, about playing Wimbledon.

SWEET GRASS TITLE

Coming from behind in both sets, Caroline Wozniacki completed her Wimbledon warmup by overcoming Aryna Sabalenka and winning at Eastbourne for the second time. “This means a lot, I forgot how heavy (the trophy) it is,” Wozniacki said. “It is great I can still play at this level almost 10 years later.” Wozniacki also won Eastbourne in 2009. Sabalenka led 5-3 in the opening set and 5-4 in the second. But Wozniacki, known for her defense and tenacity, fought back each time against her 20-year-old opponent. Even in the tiebreak it was Sabalenka, always attacking, taking a 5-2 lead. But it was Wozniacki who prevailed in straight sets. “I will remember that this is my first premier level WTA final and the 17 sets from this week,” said Sabalenka, who was delighted to reach the final despite losing. “She (Wozniacki) is a great player. You have to be focused on every point, she puts the balls in the right place.”

SNARES MAIDEN TROPHY

Playing serve-and-volley tennis on a grass court worked perfectly for Mischa Zverev. The German earned his first ATP World Tour title by defeating Lukas Lacko in the Eastbourne men’s singles. “It feels amazing,” Zverev said of the title. “It was definitely one of the emotional moments in my life.” He did it the old-fashioned way, following his serve into the net and slicing and dicing, the way grass-court tennis used to be played. “I always wanted to win at least a title,” Zverev said. “For many years I didn’t believe in myself. I didn’t think I was going to do it, especially when I was ranked 1,100th. But thank God I have my family and my brother and the whole team, my wife who is always telling me, ‘No, you can achieve things, you can do big things. Just believe in yourself, work hard and it’s going to pay off one day.’ Luckily, I have them and luckily, I was able to listen to them, believe in myself and just keep working and wait for it. Finally, I’m here. It’s incredible.” It was only the second time Zverev has reached a final; the first was eight years ago. The 30-year-old joins brother Alexander Zverev as ATP World Tour titlists this year, the first time siblings have won singles titles in the same year since 1989 when Emilio Sanchez and Javier Sanchez were victorious.

STOPS TOP SEED

Damir Dzumhur defeated top-seeded Adrian Mannarino to win the Turkish Airlines Open. “It feels great,” Dzumhur said. “(This is my) third title, the first this year and my first ever on grass.” It was the second straight year Mannarino has lost in the Antalya, Turkey, final. “Damir played really well,” Mannarino said. “We both played up and down, but at the end he was more consistent than me. He played really well in the big moments and he deserved to win.” Last year, Dzumhur became the first player from Bosnia & Herzegovina to win an ATP World Tour singles title. He is the second player from his country this season to win a tour-level crown, joining Mirza Basic who was victorious at the Diema Xtra Sofia Open. Mannarino has yet to win a tour-level title, dropping to 0-5 in championship matches. The Frenchman also lost the 2017 Antalya final to Japan’s Yuichi Sugita.

SKIPPING WIMBLEDON

Former world number one Andy Murray, a two-time champion, will not play Wimbledon this year. “It is with a heavy heart that I’m announcing that I’ll be withdrawing form Wimbledon this year,” Murray wrote in a Facebook post. “I’ve made significant progress in practice and matches over the past 10 days, but after lengthy discussions with my team, we’ve decided that playing best-of-five-set matches might be a bit too soon in the recovery process.” Murray just returned to the ATP World Tour after missing 11 months, including last year’s Wimbledon, with a hip injury. He underwent surgery on the hip in January and didn’t return to the tour until two weeks ago at Queen’s Club where he lost to Nick Kyrgios. He also played at Eastbourne, losing to fellow Brit Kyle Edmund. Murray now has set his sights on playing the year’s final Grand Slam tournament, the US Open. “I will start practicing on the hard courts from tomorrow and continuing with my rehab and recovery, and I’m looking forward to the US hard-court season,” he said.

SET TO PLAY

Despite losing in the final qualifying round, Australia’s Bernard Tomic gained a spot in the Wimbledon men’s singles draw as a lucky loser. If both win their first two matches, Tomic could face fellow Aussie Nick Kyrgios in the third round. Tomic was humbled by Belgian Davis Cup player Ruben Bemelmans 6-3 6-1 6-2 in the final round of qualifying for the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. The 25-year-odl Tomic had his best clay-court campaign this year, winning seven straight matches on his least preferred surface. He continued his resurgence by reaching the semifinals on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.

SHE REMEMBERS

Monica Seles dominated women’s tennis in the early 1990s, winning nine Grand Slam tournament singles titles in her career. Speaking a luncheon in London hosted by the WTA Tour to celebrate it’s 45th anniversary, Seles talked about the players she faced during her career. “When I was 15, I was playing Chrissie Evert and for the first time I beat her. In the locker room, Chrissie says to me, ‘Just want until you get a taste of this, what I got today.’ And at 15 years old, I am like, ‘Whatever, sure, that time will never come.’ But for Chrissie, that time came when she was 34. For me it came when I was 21. … I had been number one in the world and I am at a tournament in Chicago and I am supposed to face a young lady by the name of Serena Williams,” who was 16 at the time. “Serena pretty much smoked me in that match,” Seles said of the 4-6 6-1 6-1 thrashing. “I remember calling my agent that night and saying, ‘Tony, my days are numbered.’ I could just sense that this was going to be the next great champion. I think it’s terrific because it happened. That’s evolution. It’s a humbling experience to feel that pendulum swing.”

SICK CALL

Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky, who twice has reached the semifinals at the French Open, has pulled out of Wimbledon because of an injured lower right leg. The All England club said Bacsinszky will be replaced in the women’s singles by Mariana Duque-Marion of Colombia. Bacsinszky and Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium will be replaced in the doubles draw by Nicola Geuer of Germany and Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland.

Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov cited a wrist injury when he withdrew from Wimbledon. Dolgopolov began a controversy at Wimbledon last year when he retired hurt from his first-round match against Roger Federer after just nine games. That same day, Martin Klizan retired after eight games against Novak Djokovic. The spate of retirements forced a rule change that means player who withdraw in the first round with a pre-existing injury risk losing all of their prize money, which for first-round losers this year is USD $51,515.10. A player who withdraw after the draw is made but before their match, can collect half of their first-round loser’s fee. Dolgopolov was replaced by lucky loser Simone Bolelli.

SELECTS POLO MATCH

Serena Williams decided to attend a polo match instead of meeting with the Wimbledon media. The American was invited to the polo match by her close friend, the Duchess of Sussex. Williams was a guest at Meghan Markle’s marriage to Prince Harry at Windsor Castle in May. A little later, Serena and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, were photographed arriving for the Audi Polo Challenge in Ascot, where Prince Harry and his brother, Prince William were among the players. She met with the media the next day.

SOMETHING NEW

All 17 courts at this year’s US Open will have electronic line-calling and video review. The United State Tennis Association (USTA) announced that it’s the first time that every match at a Grand Slam tournament will have the technology. The US Open introduced electronic line-calling in 2006. The US Open begins its two-week run on August 27.

STARTS NEW EVENT

The ATP World Tour will team with up Tennis Australia to stage the ATP World Team Cup, a new event that will begin in January 2020. “This event will enable us to kick off our season with a major team event with minimal impact on existing layer schedules at the start of the year,” said Chris Kermode, ATP executive chairman and president. The ATP World Team Cup was held in Dusseldorf, Germany, from 1978 to 2012 in the middle of the year. The new tournament will feature 24 teams and offer &SD $15 million in prize money.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Antalya: Marcelo Demonliner and Santiago Gonzalez beat Sander Arends and Matwe Middelkoop 7-5 6-7 (6) 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Eastbourne (men): Luke Bambridge and Jonny O’Mara beat Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski 7-5 6-4

Eastbourne (women): Gabriela Dabrowski and Xu Yifan beat Irina-Camelia Begu and Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-3 7-5

Southsea: Kirsten Flipkens and Johanna Larsson beat Alicja Rosolska and Abigail Spears 6-4 3-6 11-9 (match tiebreak)

SURFING

Wimbledon: www.wimbledon.com/index.html
Contrexeville: www.lorraine-open88.fr
Braunschweig: www.sparkassen-open.de/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN and WOMEN

The Championships, Wimbledon, London, Great Britain, grass (first week)

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

The Championships, Wimbledon, London, Great Britain, grass (second week)
$147,927 Sparkassen Open, Braunschweig, Germany, clay
WOMEN

The Championships, Wimbledon, London, Great Britain, grass (second week)
$100,000 Hungarian Ladies Open, Budapest, Hungary, clay
$100,000 Grand EST Open, Contrexeville, France, clay

Novak Djokovic Enters Wimbledon On High Note – Mondays with Bob Greene

July 3, 2017 by Admin

Novak Djokovic Enters Wimbledon On High Note – Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Karolina Pliskova beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 64 to win the Aegon International women’s singles in Eastbourne, Great Britain

Novak Djokovic beat Gael Monfils 6-3 6-4 to win the Aegon International men’s singles in Eastbourne, Great Britain

Yuichi Sugita beat Adrian Mannarino 6-1 7-6 (4) to win the Antalya Open in Antalya, Turkey

Tatjana Maria beat Irina-Camelia Begu 6-2 6-2 to win the Aegon Southsea Trophy in Southsea, Great Britain

SAYING

“This is the most emotional moment of my career. I’ve won many Futures and Challenger titles, but never at a big tournament like this. It’s just amazing. I can’t believe it.” – Yuichi Sugita, who won his first ATP World Tour title by capturing the Antalya Open.

“I’m going to go step-by-step and hopefully I can go far at Wimbledon.” – Karolina Pliskova, who has lost in the second round at the last three Wimbledons.

“It’s quite interesting that I actually get to play her again. I guess in terms of the probability of playing each other first round in a slam twice in a row, that’s actually pretty cool.” – Johanna Konta, noting her first-round opponent at Wimbledon is Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan, who upset Konta in the first round of the French Open last month.

“For me, it’s now the next tournament, the next Grand Slam here. You know that everything is possible, especially in this big tournament. I’m starting from zero here. My mind is just day by day here, like last year. I will try to play good tennis again.” – Angelique Kerber, on playing Wimbledon after losing in the first round at the French Open.

“I feel super happy. To win my third title this year and my first team title with Robert is great.” – Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, who teamed with Robert Lindstedt to win the Antalya Open doubles.

“Since we started playing together, every match we played has been getting better and better. I’m sure if I (was) the one who didn’t feel so well, she would be the one covering on the grass, so we’re just covering each other every single match.” – Chan Yung-Jan, who teamed with Martina Hingis to win the women’s doubles title at Eastbourne.

“First of all, he’s my very good friend. He played semis of Wimbledon, beat (Roger) Federer when he was, I think, only a teenager. He was very, very talented but he was very unfortunate with injuries and some illnesses that ended his career. But we always stayed in touch and he’s one of the closest friends I have ever had on the tour. I dragged him back to the sport.” – Novak Djokovic, announcing former player Mario Ancic will join his coaching team at Wimbledon.

“I love it when people say that there’s no chance of Serena coming back. … If she comes back, she will do everything in her power to win Grand Slams again. She won’t play again if she thinks she couldn’t win Grand Slams again.” – Patrick Mouratoglou, who coaches Serena Williams.

“Serena’s the kind of person who, if you tell her that something is impossible, will only want to do it even more. She will want to prove people wrong. That’s her personality.” – Patrick Mouratoglou.

SOLID PERFORMANCE

Novak Djokovic is back in the winner’s circle. Finally. The Serbian right-handed beat Frenchman Gael Monfils in straight sets to capture the Aegon International men’s singles title in Eastbourne two days before the start of Wimbledon. “It was a great week,” said Djokovic, who asked for and got a wild-card entry into the tournament. “Obviously it feels right, looking back on the decision-making process and whether or not I should come here.” It was the first title since January for the Serb, who has dropped to fourth in the world in the rankings. Djokovic broke Monfils in the opening game and controlled play throughout. Djokovic saved all three break points and finished the match with another service break. He has never lost to his French foe in their 14 ATP World Tour matchups. “I tried my best today,” Monfils said. “I think he played very good, returned very good. Obviously in the first set he served very good. It was very tough to handle his first serve. I had some opportunities, and he had a bit of luck and managed it very good. I think I played a tough match.”

STRONG GRASS PLAY

Ranked third in the world, Karolina Pliskova has been flying under the radar, with most of the talk surrounding the top-ranked Angelique Kerber and the pregnant Serena Williams. But riding her big serves and crushing groundstrokes, the Czech won the Aegon International on the grass at Eastbourne, defeating Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets for her third title this year. “This feels better,” the 25-year-old Pliskova said of winning Eastbourne this year compared to last year when she lost in the final. “My service is definitely my biggest weapon and if it’s working it causes the other player a lot of problems.” Pliskova banged 10 aces to become the first Czech to win Eastbourne since Jana Novotna in 1998. Novotna went on to win Wimbledon that year. Pliskova has lost in the second round at Wimbledon in each of the last three years.

SUGITA SHINES

Yuichi Sugita joined an exclusive club when he toppled Adrian Mannarino to win the Antalya Open. In winning his first ATP World Tour title, Sugita became just the third Japanese player to win a title on the men’s circuit, joining Shuzo Matsuoka and Kei Nishikori. “I’m really happy to be the first champion in Antalya,” said Sugita, who has surged nearly 100 spots in the Emirates ATP Rankings since January. The fourth first-time winner on the ATP World Tour this year, Sugita needed one hour and 29 minutes to stop Mannarino for the second time in their third career meeting. Sugita also became the first player to win a grass-court event on both the ATP World Tour and ATP Challenger Tour in the same season. He won his ninth Challenger title at the Aegon Surbiton Trophy three weeks before his success in Antalya, Turkey. The Frenchman Mannarino was also seeking his maiden ATP World Tour title in his third final. “Yuichi was just the better player today, he deserved to win,” Mannarino said. “It is still a great week for me.”

SUCCESS AT LAST

Twins Bob and Mike Bryan won their first ATP World Tour doubles title of the season when they captured the rain-plagued Aegon International in Eastbourne by winning two matches on both Thursday and Friday. It was a record 113^th title for the American brothers. Their last victory was at the Rome Masters in May 2016. “Mike and I are excited to win this title, not only because it’s been awhile, but because we are competing at a level that we are both proud of,” Bob Bryan said. “This win is a great shot of confidence heading into next week.” The victory came after the Bryans reunited last month with coach David Macpherson. They beat Rohan Bopanna and Andre Sa in the final. Bopanna an Sa were playing together for the first time. Both have won tournaments this year with other partners.

SET FOR WIMBLEDON

Great Britain’s Johanna Konta says she has recovered from a fall and will play Wimbledon this week. Seeded sixth in the year’s third Grand Slam tournament, Konta had to pull out of the Aegon International in Eastbourne when she tumbled to the grass, hurting her back and banging her head. She withdrew from her semifinal match and there were questions as to whether she would be able to play Wimbledon. “I’m definitely recovering really well,” the 26-year-old said. “I definitely looking forward to playing my first round.” By the quirk of the draw, Konta’s first-round opponent is Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan, who upset Konta in the first round of the French Open last month. “I know she enjoys the grass,” Konta said of Hsieh. “She’s a Wimbledon champion in doubles here on the grass, so she definitely can play on this surface. … She will definitely look to make things difficult for me.”

SEEKING HELP

Former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez will be joining the coaching staff of Garbiñe Muguruza for the upcoming fortnight. The Spaniard will serve as Muguruza’s temporary coach and advisor after her current coach, Sam Sumyk, had to return home for “a family matter” and was unable to be at Wimbledon. Martinez previously worked with Muguruza during the US Open in 2015.

Novak Djokovic his strengthened his coaching team for Wimbledon. He added Mario Ancic along with Andre Agassi. The 33-year-old Ancic, who reached as high as seventh in the world, stopped playing on the tour in 2011 because of injuries. Now a banker, Ancic had to negotiate getting time off from his job to joint Djokovic at Wimbledon. “I had to do a series of talks and get permission from all over (the company). I negotiated all last week and, luckily, got the green light coming into Wimbledon and I will be available for Novak,” Ancic told the Sportarena newspaper.

SEEDING HOLDS

Robert Lindstedt and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi upheld their seeding to win the Antalya Open doubles. The top seeds were leading 7-5 4-1 when the second-seeded team of Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic were forced to retire. “You always leave a tournament with a lot of amazing feelings and happiness when you win, so it’s incredible to come out on top,” Lindstedt said. While Lindstedt and Qureshi teamed up together last year in Nottingham, the inaugural Antalya event was their first pairing of 2017. On the road to the final, they had to save a match point in their semifinal against Jonathan Erlich and Nikola Mektic. This was Qureshi’s third doubles title this year with three different partners. Lindstedt was playing his first final of 2017.

SIXTY AND COUNTING

With yet another perfect partner, Martina Hingis continues her record-book career. “My partner was really on fire today,” Hingis said after she and Chan Yung-Jan won the Aegon International doubles title in Eastbourne. The victory over Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua was the fifth title for Hingis and Chan this year and the 60^th WTA doubles title for Hingis. “It felt like I just needed to stand there on court, she was firing right and left. She was playing really great, and I hope we can take the (form of) the last two weeks into Wimbledon.” The last time Hingis won the doubles at Eastbourne, her partner was Anna Kournikova in 1999. Hingis also reached the Eastbourne doubles final in 2014, partnering Flavia Pennetta, but lost to Chan and her sister, Chan Hao-Ching.

SUING VENUS

A lawyer says the family of a man who died in a car crash involving Venus Williams plans to sue the tennis star. Jerome Barson suffered head injuries in the June 9 crash in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA. He died two weeks later. Although the police report said Williams was at fault, she has not been charged with an offense. A statement from Williams’ attorney, Malcolm Cunningham, called the incident “an unfortunate accident” and said, “Venus expresses her deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one.” According to Cunningham, Williams entered an intersection on a green light and became stuck because of the traffic when the light turned red. The police report said Williams was deemed at fault for blocking the right of way of the other vehicle. “The police report estimates that Ms. Williams was traveling at 5 mph

(8 kmh) when Mrs. (Linda) Barson crashed into her,” Cunningham said. Currently ranked 11^th in the world, Williams is seeded 10^th at Wimbledon, which she has won five times.

SUSPENDED

Isaac Frost of Australia has been provisionally suspended from playing professional tennis. The suspension will last “until the conclusion of Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) investigations into alleged breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program,” the TIU said without divulging any more details. The 28-year-old player was previously sanctioned under the sport’s anti-corruption program for not cooperating with a TIU investigation. He was suspended from October 2013 to September 2014.

SAD NEWS

Tennis photographer Russ Adams is dead at the age of 86. Known as the dean of modern tennis photography, Adams was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2007. He died just weeks after the death of his wife, Betty, who traveled the world with Russ. Adams worked for newspapers in Massachusetts and developed the camera systems used today for check-cashing and ATM machines. In 1955, he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He was presented with the United States Tennis Association’s lifetime achievement award in 2002. A joint memorial will be held July 14 in Reading, Massachusetts, USA.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Antalya: Robert Lindstedt and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi beat Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic 7-5 4-1, retired

Eastbourne (men): Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan beat Rohan Bopanna and Andre Sa 6-7 (4) 6-4 10-3 (match tiebreak)

Eastbourne (women): Chan Yung-Jan and Martina Hingis beat Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua 6-3 7-5

Southsea: Shuko Aoyama and Yang Zhaoxuan beat Viktorija Golubic and Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-7 (7) 6-3 10-8 (match tiebreak

SURFING

Wimbledon: www.wimbledon.com/index.html

Sparkassen: www.sparkassen-open.de/

Budapest: www.hungarianprocircuit.com

Contrexeville: www.lorraine-open88.fr

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN and WOMEN

Wimbledon, London, Great Britain, grass (first week)

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

Wimbledon, London, Great Britain (second week)

$144,898 Sparkassen Open, Braunschweig, Germany, clay

WOMEN

Wimbledon, London, Great Britain (second week)

$100,000 Hungarian Pro Circuit Ladies Open, Budapest, Hungary, clay

$100,000 Grand Est Open 88, Contrexeville, France, clay

The Aegon International In Eastbourne Provides Late Wimbledon Testing Ground For Top WTA Stars

June 19, 2017 by Admin

The Aegon International at Eastbourne is one of the most historic events on the WTA Tour.

It is the premier women’s Wimbledon grass-court preparatory event held at Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club since 1974. The great Martina Navratilova, arguably the greatest grass-court tennis player of all time, won the event an amazing 11 times.

The 2017 tournament, that starts June 26 and leads into the start of Wimbledon, will provide a late testing ground for the world’s top players as they prepare for the world’s premier tennis tournament while attempting to secure a prestigious WTA Tour title. Seven of the world’s top 10 are competing at Eastbourne which will provide for fierce competition and high quality play.

Leading entries include world No. 1 and 2016 Wimbledon finalist Angelique Kerber of Germany and world No. 2 and 2016 U.S. Open finalist Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

Kerber is in, perhaps, the poorest of form of any world No. 1, struggling with her confidence having not won a tournament since last year’s U.S. Open. Now, to boot, she is suffering with a hamstring problem that forced her to withdraw from the grass-court prep event in Birmingham, which will not help her chances at Eastbourne, or at Wimbledon.

Pliskova is a trendy pick to excel on the British grass with her booming serve and groundstrokes being well-suited for the fast grass-court surface. She was not expecting great results on the clay at the French Championships but reached the semifinals, where she was one match away from securing the No. 1 ranking from Kerber. Grass courts may be what lift her to the WTA Tour world No. 1 ranking in a few weeks time.

Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia is the defending champion at Eastbourne, having beaten Pliskova last year’s final. Her confidence is still riding quite high after winning the year-end WTA Tour Championships in Singapore, but she is yet to break-through and win a major championship. No player has repeated as champion in Eastbourne since Justine Henin in 2006 and 2007.

Many eyes are on Johanna Konta, the top British player, who is enjoying a break-out season, having won earlier this year in a Miami, one of the top events in tennis outside of the four Grand Slam tournaments. Playing on her familiar grass courts – and buoyed by local fan support – she could not only go deep at Eastbourne, but also at Wimbledon as well.

Curiously, the 38^th and final direct entry into the tournament is Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, who shocked the tennis world with her triumph at Roland Garros. What is surprising about Ostapenko is clay is not even her favorite surface and she adores grass, where she won the Wimbledon junior title in 2014.

Other top contenders in the star-studded field include 2015 Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza of Spain, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2015, Svetlanta Kuznetsova of Russia, the 2004 champ who will turn 32 during the event and still playing great tennis, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, the former world No. 1 and 2009 champ who is solidly back in the Top 10, and Aga Radwanska, who won the Eastbourne title in 2008 and reached the final again in 2015.