Agnieszka Radwanska bows out to Jamie Hampton in the opening round – AEGON International 2013
Top seed, Agnieszka Radwanska, was edged out by the American qualifier, Jamie Hampton in brutal straight sets at the AEGON International 2013 on Tuesday. She suffered a 6-7(2), 2-6 loss at the hands of the American and exited from
the opening round from this WTA Premier event taking place in Eastbourne, United Kingdom.
The Polish top ranked star lost her track in the tie-breaker of the opening set. She failed to find her rhythm afterwards and ultimately lost the match. As a result, Hampton recorded her first victory against the Pole and lowered
trail in their head-to-head series by 1-3.
The 24-year-old commented in a post match presser, "I think playing her in the first match on the grass was tough, and the fact that she played three matches before helped her a little bit. Of course, I was practicing here a couple
of days, but I think matches are a little bit different than practice. I think I wasn't maybe quite match ready yet. Now I can just hope things turn out like last year! I lost first round here but still ended up playing great tennis at Wimbledon."
Radwanska drew the first blood in the third game and took the initial lead. She lost her serve in the very next game but broke again, eventually leading to a 4-2 lead. However, the pole lost her edge in the 10th game
and then displayed dismal performance in the tie-breaker to suffer a 6-7(2) loss.
Ranked fourth in the WTA Premier Rankings, Radwanska failed to re-gain her strength in the following set. She squandered both break chances and failed to defend both break points she came across, subsequently enduring a 2-6 loss.
Summing up the Pole’s performance, Radwanska clobbered a higher first serve share of 63 per cent as opposed to her rival’s 61 per cent but poorly clicked 25 out of 44 points on it. She also committed more unforced errors and dusted
away three out of seven breakpoints she faced.
The former world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, will join Hampton in the following round. She will take on the local challenger, Laura Robson.
The Danish star reflected about her upcoming battle, "Obviously it's going to be a different match. I'm sure she likes the grass better than the clay so it's going to be tough.”
Seeded fifth in this event, Wozniacki triumphed over the defending champion, Tamira Paszek, to progress. She recorded a 6-3, 2-2 retirement victory against Paszek.
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