Simon out of Eastbourne
Frenchman Gilles Simon, previously a top-ten Men’s Singles performer, was defeated last Thursday at Aegon International, a grass court event. Aegon International, which takes place at Eastbourne, is considered to be the last tune-up before the Wimbledon tournament.
Simon played Michael Llodra, an eight seeded player also hailing from France, and was defeated with a final score of 6-1, 6-3 in a short match that lasted a mere 58 minutes. The match took place at Devonshire Park on Day five of the tournament. Llodra is a lefthanded player, and was able to break Simon’s serve on four separate occasions throughout the match, all the while holding his serve.
Simon, who was formerly the number six player in the world, was playing tennis for the first time, after having suffered a knee injury a few months ago, in March. A player with a relatively small stature, Simon has mentioned Michael Chang as a personal inspiration, and has shown considerable ability on court, being one of only three men to beat Federer in 2008.
The French stir it up
Despite Simon’s painless defeat, his French compatriot fought tooth and nail to prevent Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez from advancing. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the fifth-seeded player in the tournament, ousted number 4 seeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). Benneteau did not give way easily, hanging on for over two hours, in a match that took up 2 hours and 25 minutes.
Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov, the seventh seeded player at Eastbourne, avoided an upset by taking charge with British wild card James Ward with a final tally of 6-3, 6-4.
Non-seeded Denis Istomin from Uzbekistan defeated fellow non-seeder, Ukrainian Illya Marchenko with a score of 6-1, 6-4.
The semifinals on Friday will see a match-up of Garcia-Lopez against Istomin and Dolgopolov versus Llodra.
Women making splashes
The ladies line-up at the Aegon International featured many top 20 ranked players in the world.
A little known qualifier from Russia, Ekaterina Makarova has turned a few heads at Eastbourne. The 22-year-old took out Flavia Pennetta, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova, and Sam Stosur without losing a single set.
In the final, facing a wounded but nonetheless dangerous Victoria Azarenka,
Most impressively, the young Makarova continued to keep her focus in the final against Victoria Azarenka, and became the first ever qualifier to come out victorious and win the Aegon International title at Eastbourne. Makarova is a true showcase of the power of keeping a calm state of mind under pressure, as her unflinching precision and courage against seeded players attested to her level of maturity in the game.
Makarova held the number 35 ranking in the world for a short while, and is currently ranked as the top 15th Russian in the ladies’ singles category. However she is down at 100 and has not progressed past the first round for the duration of the season. Eastbourne has been a favourable tournament for Makarova, as she was able to sustain a strong defensive front, and even launch into the offense to come out on top out of nowhere. A true case of the dark horse galloping through to the finish line.
What’s ahead for Makarova?
The real story here, apart from Makarova’s success at Eastbourne, would be if the Russian got through her past her first round at Wimbledon. In this case, she would potentially face a second round encounter with none other than Venus Williams herself. As pristine as her condition may be at this point, a face off with Williams would doubtless be an exhilarating encounter for the 22 year old Makarova.
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