By Zuzanna Marciniak, reporting from Devonshire Park
Day One – Grand Slam champions square off
Britain’s Andy Murray will face another Grand Slam champion, Stan Wawrinka, in a first round encounter on Monday. Both players received wildcards from the organisers, as they make their way back from injuries which forced them to take a hiatus from the sport.
Murray appeared today for the first time at Devonshire Park to practice with another British star and his possible second round opponent, Kyle Edmund. The duo attracted hundreds of fans who cheered and watched them as they practiced.
Fans at the Centre Court witnessed great tennis from two very hard-hitting players, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Sorana Cirstea, who inaugurated the play at Eastbourne. After winning the first set 6-2, Cirstea lost her rhythm, and Pavlyunchenkova took advantage to win the next two sets 7-5 6-4. She now advances to the second round where she will face the defending champion, Karolina Pliskova.
Katie Swan, one of the three British wildcards and the youngest player in women’s main draw lost to USA’s Danielle Collins 3-6 6-3 3-6. Following a shaky start, Swan managed to show her best game and win the second set, but a lack of consistency proved to be costly. Another Brit, Jay Clarke also lost a three-set battle in qualifying to Ecuador’s Roberto Quiroz, 7-6(6) 4-6 4-6. However, the 19-year-old will play tomorrow in the main draw against USA’s Ryan Harrison after being a lucky loser.
On Monday, fans will see eight Brits in action, including Andy Murray and Eastbourne’s favourite, Johanna Konta who will play doubles together with Hungary’s Timea Babos. The most awaited match of the day, Murray vs. Wawrinka will be played on Centre Court, not before 4pm.
Day Two – Murray on fire
Andy Murray needed only 77 minutes to beat three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in straight sets 6-1 6-3 in the first round in Eastbourne and claimed his first win since last July.
Throughout the whole match Murray electrified the crowd with brilliant shots, leaving Wawrinka throwing his towel with frustration. The Scot was impressive from the start and forced the Swiss into making several errors.
‘’I am very happy to get the win. I played well in the first set, the second one was a bit patchy and I was a bit nervous. When you haven’t played for a best part of the year and you face someone like Stan it is tough but obviously I am delighted to get the win,’’ said Murray in his post-match interview. He noted that he is still unsure as to whether he will play at Wimbledon next week.
Murray’s second round opponent will be another British star, Kyle Edmund, who had a bye in the first round and will play his first match on Wednesday. At a press conference earlier today Edmund said: ‘’This is just another match I have got to play and do my best. I think Andy is looking pretty good, he played really well for his first match for sure. I just have to focus on myself and do my best.’’
Britain’s Jay Clarke, who yesterday was awarded with a lucky loser, proved to be worth a spot in the main draw as he raced past USA’s Ryan Harrison, who is ranked 178 places above Clarke, 6-4 6-1 in only 66 minutes.
Another British player was eliminated from women’s main draw today, as Heather Watson lost to France’s Kristina Mladenovic 7-6(2) 5-7 3-6 in an exhausting three hours battle.
Fans tomorrow will see Eastbourne resident Johanna Konta in action, as she takes on Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic on the Centre Court, followed by her doubles match.
Day Three – Konta gets her first win
Zuzanna Marciniak reports on day three at the Nature Valley International in Eastbourne which saw the Brits shine, as Joanna Konta progressed into the third round, while wildcard Cameron Norrie won his first grass court match this year.
Johanna Konta cruised past Aleksandra Krunic 6-1 6-3 in her opening match at the Nature Valley International in Eastbourne and will now face world number two and top seeded player, Caroline Wozniacki.
Britain’s number one produced a confident performance in front of her home crowd, with her aggressive baseline play allowing her to break Krunic’s serve twice in each set.
Cameron Norrie, Britain’s wildcard in the men’s main draw, managed to defeat German qualifier Daniel Brands in a nervy three sets to secure a spot in the second round against his compatriot, Jay Clarke.
‘’I was pretty instinctive with my play today, I volleyed pretty well. It was a great contest and I think it’s a good one for me on the grass. Tomorrow, with Jay, it’s going to be an interesting one, but I think I’m ready for it and I’m going to take a lot of confidence from the win today,’’ said Norrie after his match.
For both Norrie and Jay, who have previously paired up to play doubles at Wimbledon, tomorrow’s match is a chance for both of them to advance to their first quarterfinals at an ATP event.
Tomorrow promises to be a treat for fans, as Konta will take on Wozniacki, and then second seeded Kyle Edmund will face Andy Murray who is continuing his comeback from injury.
‘’It’s a really good test for me. To get another match against someone as good as Kyle is definitely a positive thing for me. Obviously, I’m going to go out and do my best, but this match will be tricky,’’ said Murray, who has won both of their previous meetings.
Day Four – Edmund too good for Murray
Zuzanna Marciniak concludes day four at the Nature Valley International, where Kyle Edmund beat his compatriot Andy Murray and Caroline Wozniacki ended British hopes as she defeated Johanna Konta.
Kyle Edmund became the fifth British player to ever beat Andy Murray and the first one to do it in almost 12 years, as he secured a straight-set win over the former world number one, 6-4 6-4. He now plays Mikhail Kukushkin in the quarterfinals.
Edmund looked focused and confident throughout the match and let the nerves take control of him only once, when he was 5-2 up in the second set serving for the match.
‘’It was a tough match mentally, playing Andy, but it always is nice to come through like that. I’ve looked up to him so much and he’s looked after me so it is a bit of a weird feeling. I was nervous towards the end but it is good to come through for me,’’ said Edmund in his post-match interview.
Edmund joined Cameron Norrie in the last eight, who defeated his fellow countryman Jay Clarke, 6-4 6-3, earlier today. He will now play Lukas Lacko who stunned top seeded player, Diego Schwartzman in three sets.
World number 2 Caroline Wozniacki, ended Joanna Konta’s dreams of claiming her first title in front of her home crowd, by defeating the Brit 4-6 6-1 6-4 in two hours and 10 minutes. This is the Dane’s second win on grass this season, as she chose not to play any other events ahead of Wimbledon.
‘’I think I play really well on grass so I don’t see a reason why winning Wimbledon wouldn’t be achievable for me. But to get there you need to win seven matches and it’s a long way. I start with the first match and then go from there,’’ said Wozniacki at a press conference when asked about her thoughts on Wimbledon which starts on Monday 2nd July.
Day Five – Poor day for the Brits
With Wimbledon starting on Monday, Zuzanna Marciniak reports on day five of the Nature Valley International Tournament in Eastbourne. Today, Britain’s Kyle Edmund and Cameron Norrie were beaten, while Angelique Kerber set up a blockbuster match with Caroline Wozniacki.
After beating Andy Murray yesterday, Kyle Edmund could not keep up his winning streak as he lost in the quarter-finals to world number 90, Mikhail Kukushkin, 7-5 3-6, 1-6.
The 23-year-old Brit struggled to remain consistent after winning the first set and a string of errors resulted in him winning only one game in the final set.
Despite losing today, Edmund remained optimistic ahead of Wimbledon. ‘’I feel like I’m playing my best I have played on grass before, so that’s one positive. Today is another thing to learn from, played seven matches on grass so far and spent a decent amount of time on court,’’ said the British number one after the match.
Kukushkin will now face Mischa Zverev from Germany, who sailed past third seed, Denis Shapovalov, 6-3 6-3.
Lukas Lacko defeated Cameron Norrie in straight sets 6-3 6-4 to reach the Nature Valley International semi-final. Despite the loss, Norrie achieved his best singles result at an ATP event by reaching the quarter-final.
In the shock of the day, the women’s defending champion, Karolina Pliskova, was knocked out by Aryna Sabalenka 3-6 6-2 6-7(5). Sabalenka had never beaten a top 10 player heading into the match, but she showed grit as she clawed back from a 4-1 deficit in the final set, to take the third set tiebreaker. Sabalenka now plays Agnieszka Radwanska who has recently returned from injury.
In the second semi-final, world number two Caroline Wozniacki, will face Angelique Kerber in what is expected to be a fascinating battle. Their last match went to three sets, with Wozniacki coming out on top.
The men’s doubles final will be a special treat for the British fans, as they will see two British pairs battling for the Nature Valley International title. Luke Bambridge and Johnny O’Mara will face Ken and Neal Skupski on Court 1.
Day Six – Wozniacki through to the final
On the penultimate day of the Nature Valley International, Caroline Wozniacki advanced to her third tournament final this year and set up a meeting with surprise finalist, Aryna Sabalenka. Zuzanna Marciniak reports:
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki will play Aryna Sabalenka in tomorrow’s Nature Valley International final, to claim her second title in Eastbourne, with her last coming in 2009.
The Dane defeated former world number one, Angelique Kerber, 2-6 7-6(4) 6-4, despite making several unforced errors in the first set and having to defend a match point in the second.
‘’We have had a lot of tough battles. I knew it was going to be difficult again out there today, but I got a little lucky in that second set and just kept my head down for the third,’’ said Wozniacki following her victory.
Her opponent tomorrow, Sabalenka, reached the final after beating Agnieszka Radwanska in another three-setter and this will be the Belarusian’s first premier final.
Both players struggled to keep their serve with the match featuring 14 breaks, but Sabalenka’s aggression was the difference maker, and she was able to serve out the match at 5-3 to down the former Wimbledon finalist.
‘’I watched her play when I was young and it was amazing because she’s a good fighter so I’ve always thought it would be nice to play her. Now I’ll against her in the final it is definitely nice,’’ said the world number 45, when asked about her thoughts on playing Wozniacki.
In the men’s final, Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko, will face Mischa Zverev of Germany.
Lacko cruised past Roland-Garros semi-finalist, Marco Cechinatto, 6-3 6-4 and did not face a break point during the 60-minute affair.
Zverev beat Mikhail Kukushkin, who yesterday knocked out Kyle Edmund, 7-6(9) 6-4 to reach his first singles final on grass.
In the doubles final, Britain’s Luke Bambridge and Jonny O’Mara dispatched their compatriots, Ken and Neal Skupski in just over an hour to win the title.
Tomorrow will start with the women’s singles final, which will be played at 12.30 and that will be followed by the men’s singles final and then the women’s doubles match.
Day Seven – Wozniacki and Zverev reign
Caroline Wozniacki defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the Nature Valley International final to claim her second title in Eastbourne with her first coming in 2009.
Sabalenka, ranked 45th in the world, put the pressure on the top seed from the beginning and forced her to defend plenty of break points throughout the match. The 20-year-old Belarussian had two set points at 5-3 but could not convert and in the end lost 5-7 6-7(5).
‘’It’s always tough to lose when you have a chance to win, like a set point or when you lead 5-2 in the tie-break and then you totally lose your game. But she’s a great player. It’s a good experience for me and I hope that next time when I have a chance like today, I’m going to keep it,’’ said Sabalenka at a post-match press conference.
It’s Wozniacki’s second title of the year, after her success from Australian Open and it comes only two days before the start of next Grand Slam, Wimbledon.
Mischa Zverev eased past Lukas Lacko 6-4 6-4 in men’s final in Eastbourne to win his first singles ATP title.
‘’It feels amazing to hold my first ATP trophy, it is definitely one of the most amazing moments of my life because you’re the last one standing and you have a trophy, it’s just a very unique feeling. For many years I didn’t believe in myself and didn’t think I can do it but thank God I’ve got my family and my team who are always supporting me and believing in me,’’ said emotional Zverev in a post-match interview.
The 30-year-old from German didn’t lose his serve throughout the whole match and hit an ace to clinch the title in 97 minutes.
To wrap up the most popular edition of Nature Valley International to date, Gabriela Dabrowski and Yifan Xu defeated Irina-Camelia Begu and Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-3 7-5 and claimed their fourth WTA doubles title together.