Wimbledon 2008: A qualified success
Written by Helen Gilbert
Chris Eaton will give the home fans something to cheer about by advancing to the main event after being given a wild card into the qualifiers.
Ranked 659 in the world, the Brit battled through every round before beating the number 26 seed, Olivier Patience, from France, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (3) in his final match.
Belgium's Christophe Rochus will be making his eighth appearance at Wimbledon after a successful qualifying campaign.
Rochus, 29, did not drop a set throughout his three matches. "When I came here I was injured, I didn't know if I would be able to play and now I have qualified. I beat some good guys and not losing a set so I guess I'm good this year on grass," he said.
Severine Bremond, who reached the quarter-finals in 2006, played outstanding tennis over the course of the week. She rattled through her final match 6-0, 6-4. "I think I played very good. It was a good win on grass," she said after her match.
Meanwhile, Italy's Stefano Gallani and Poland's Dawid Olejniczak will no doubt be resting up before Monday after both endured marathon five set matches to qualify.
Gallani emerged the victor in a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 tussle with Serb Ilia Bozoljac, while Olejniczak defeated South Africa's Rik de Voest 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (1), 2-6, 8-6.
A 16-year-old making her first appearance at qualifying, a Brit on a wildcard, a Belgium bidding for his ninth entry into the main draw and a former quarter-finallist were just some of the stories that emerged over the course of the Wimbledon qualifying event.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a three-time junior Grand Slam winner, who was a wild card entrant last year, became the youngest player to qualify for the 2008 Championships at the age of 16.
"I was focused but a little nervous," she said after a final round win in which she dropped just three games. Looking ahead to the main draw she added: "I will play my best tennis and see how it goes."
Article from Wimbledon.org - Here
Photo ©AELTC / G. Kirk
