Wimbledon Qualifying Day 4

Want to know what happened during the last day of the qualy event at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships???? Check it out....

5.29 pm: Arn and Yakimova through
And that’s your lot – the singles are done and dusted and we have our 28 qualifiers.

4.22 pm: Hats off to Mahut!
He’s done it again! Nic Mahut has won another five-setter against lefty opposition to grind his way into the main draw. His returning isn’t great but his serving has been strong and after winning four at Queen’s last week and three here, he’ll be one the seeds want to avoid.

4.02 pm: Mahut into another five-setter
If he gets through, he’ll have done it the hard way, young Nic. The 15th-ranked Frenchman (that’s No.15 in France, not the world) was 0-2 down to Stefan Koubek but has battled back to take it to a decider, two days after toughing out a 24-22 final set against Alex Bogdanovic, the GB No.2.
Taylor Dent meanwhile won a second set tie-break and is currently in a breaker in the third. The scoreboard reads 1-1, 6-6, 6-6 between him and Ebden. A mixture of binary code and the number of the beast...

3.50 pm: Krajicek out, Lucic through
No.13 seed Michaella Krajicek has been defeated pretty comprehensively by Mirjana Lucic, the Croat who reached the semis at Wimbledon in 1999 only to suffer personal problems shortly afterwards and spiral out of contention. She made her comeback in 2007 and is delighted to be back. “After so many years, every match was like winning Wimbledon for me. I was so focussed. I have a couple of strained muscles but I was fighting. I’m hard on myself so now I’m proud of myself to go from the smallest tournaments all the way to Wimbledon, without getting any wild cards. I would drive by the main site every day and tell myself ‘I’m getting there, I’m getting there’, and now I’m going there!” What a wonderful story.

3.30 pm: Women’s main draw direct acceptance and withdrawals
The withdrawals list is as follows: Peng Shuai (illness), Carla Suarez Navarro (ankle), Sabine Lisicki (ankle), Elena Dementieva (calf) and Virginie Razzano (hip). Maria Elena Camerin is the last direct acceptance at 109, then we have seven wild cards and 12 qualifying spots, currently taken by Kaia Kanepi, Andrea Hlavackova, Eleni Daniilidou, Monica Nicolescu, Shenay Perry, Beth Mattek Socks, Romina Oprandi and Nurai Llagostera Vives. Four more slots to fill, with Beatriz Garcia Vidagny and Stephanie Dubois (just out on court, against Greta Arn and Kurumi Nara respectively) first in line if anyone drops out. And if both those two win, there’s Michaella Krajicek and Anastasiya Yakimova behind them, but they still have to play as well. The highest ranked player amongst those who have lost so far today is Julie Ditty.
And before you ask, since I know you’re all the curious types, Garcia Vidagny is “top seed” of the lucky losers because the first four are drawn at random (to prevent people going on court knowing that they’re through anyway, either as a winner or a lucky loser).

3.06 pm: A Tomic blast into main draw
Bernard Tomic became the fifth player to qualify for Wimbledon in straight sets, and the youngest at just 17 years and eight months, ending the hopes of Prakash Amritraj of India 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-4.
The highly rated Australian looks to be coming of age and having navigated his way through three tough matches to reach the main draw for the first time is sure to be one to watch in only his fourth appearance at a Grand Slam and the first time “on merit” without receiving a wild card.
So far this year Tomic, ranked 258 in the world, has won on four occasions against top 200 players and defeated one top 100 player, Andreas Seppi, at Queen’s Club proving he is a force to be reckoned with on grass.

3 pm: Scores on the doors
Jesse Witten got through in four, Nic Mahut is staying alive, having taken the third (but is obviously 2-1 down to Stefan Koubek) and in other Austrian news, Martin Fischer defeated No.24 seed Ramon Delgado.

2.25 pm: Around the grounds
Bernie Tomic is through with a minimum of fuss, having straight-setted his way past Prakash Amritraj. Stefan Koubek is two up on Nicolas Mahut, and Taylor Dent has just lost the opener to Aussie Matthew Ebden.

1.39 pm: Eight US women in main draw
Shenay Perry and Bethanie Mattek-Sands both progressed through to the ladies’ singles main draw today overcoming their opponents in three sets, and will now be heading to Wimbledon joining six other American women in first round.
Mattek-Sands defeated compatriot Julie Ditty 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 using her greater physical presence and lightning speed across the court to go ahead in the first set before Ditty raised her game and came out more aggressive in the second set to force a decider.
Shenay Perry was involved in an exciting encounter with Severine Beltrame of France, two gifted all-court players provided a great tennis spectacle worthy of a Wimbledon show court.
Perry battled from a set down to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Although her opponent started strong and looked like she was on her way to her sixth consecutive appearance at SW19, Perry was always in the match able to rely on her serve to keep herself in with a shout.
The third set saw the American go ahead in the match for the first time, her confidence at the net and ability to mix things up at the baseline made this a highly entertaining match against the 2006 quarter-finalist who also provided the crowd with many wonderfully constructed points but was unable to match Perry who has played well all week and deserves her place at The Championships.

1.32 pm: Kavcic in main draw on direct acceptance
Slovenian Blaz Kavcic is into the main draw on direct acceptance after the withdrawal of Ivo Karlovic. There are three slots open to lucky losers, and once Nalbandian makes his withdrawal official there will be a fourth. Dent, Muller, Ilhan (who is about to defeat Karanusic) and Koubek (locked at 6-6 in a first-set tie-break with Mahut) are the top four on the lucky loser list, followed by Jesse Levine, Carsten Ball, Ryan Sweeting and Ilya Bozoljac.
The full withdrawal list is Del Potro (wrist), Haas (hip), Gonzalez (knee), Monaco (wrist), Cuevas (back), Karlovic (foot) and Ancic (back). Plus Nalbandian to come.

Aha, here we go, Nalbandian out with leg injury.

1.20 pm: US success
Brendan Evans, No.329 in the world, has defeated German No.18 seed Julian Reister in three straight sets (the men’s final round is best-of-five). The first and third went to tie-breaks, the opener being an epic 28-pointer. And his fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands is through, 6-4ing her way past compatriot Julie Ditty in the decider. More money for Nashville flood relief thanks to the knee-high sock-wearing fashion icon.

1.07 pm: Sun sets on the British empire
The last remaining British player left in the qualifiers, Lisa Whybourn, missed out on a first round main draw appearance today, losing to 23-year-old Czech Andrea Hlavackova, ranked 237 places above her. The British teenager fought bravely but was unable to match Hlavackova for power and consistency.
The third round proved a step too far for Whybourn who was beaten by an opponent physically stronger and who inflicted back-to-back 6-1, 6-2 defeats on British players (defeating Naomi Cavaday in the second round) en route to her first ever appearance in the ladies’ singles main draw at The Championships.

12.57 pm: Kanepi books her slot
Kaia Kanepi of Estonia lived up to her No.1 seeding today in the final round of qualifying, ending an exceptional campaign with a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia.
Kanepi dropped just 12 games in all the rounds, always looking incredibly relaxed and confident here at The Bank of England Sports Centre serving consistently and dictating the rallies with her incredibly powerful ground strokes.
Few players in the main draw will be happy to face the Estonian in the first round next week when the draws are announced tomorrow, especially with the five wins and one defeat, to Li Na at Birmingham, she has to her name in this year’s grass court campaign.

12.50 pm: Around the grounds
Perry looks like she’s heading into the main draw, having just broken and held against Beltrame, who is sporting a curious pair of leggings underneath her skirt. Nicolas “defeating Alex Bogdanovic 24-22 in the decider in the second round two nights ago” Mahut and Stefan “lefty and former Federer hitting partner whenever Rog was preparing to face Nadal” Koubek are locked at 3-3 in the first. The Frenchie is serving big, the Austrian returning well, particularly on the backhand. Carlos Bernardes is in the chair for that one, with Louise Engzell and Kader Nouni strolling around the grounds at the moment (not together before you all start gossiping).
Beth Mattek and Julie Ditty are going at it hammer and tongs in the decider. Mrs Sands (as Bethanie now is) is trying lots of sliced cross-court backhand drops – some of them are working, others not. Romina Oprandi meanwhile is about to serve for the match, despite having her right knee so covered in tape and strapping you’d think it was hanging by a thread, against Ekaterina Ivanova.

12.27 pm: Hlavackova through, last Brit out
No.22 seed Andrea Hlavackova has defeated Lisa Whybourn 6-1, 6-2, ending British interest in the qualifying competition. This is the Czech’s first appearance in a Grand Slam main draw – she failed to qualify in 2007 and wasn’t even in the qualifiers in 2008 or 2009.

12.20 pm: Ditty not down just yet
Bethanie Mattek-Socks, as I like to call her, took the opener in that “USA! USA! USA! derby but Ditty bounced back to take the second. Beth is giving 5% of all prize money here and through to the US Open to flood relief in Tennessee, by the way.

12.12 pm: Danii double bagels!
6-0, 6-0. Eleni Daniilidou is through, having inflicted the soundest and heaviest of defeats on No.16 seed Anastasia Pivovarova (whose surname means “brewer” in Russian). She has five titles to her name does the Greek lady, but hasn’t been in a Grand Slam main draw since the US in 2008 due to a persistent right knee injury. She’s just served and volleyed her way back into contention though.

12.05 pm: There’ll be dancing on the streets of Tallinn tonight!
Kaia Kanepi is through into the main draw, defeat Alja Tomljanovic 6-1, 6-2. Disappointment for the photogenic young Croat but her day will come. Kanepi meanwhile is good value for her qualification and will be the one that every seed wants to avoid in tomorrow’s draw. She dropped only 12 games in cruising through. Whoosh.

11.45 am: Scud missile on No.8 court
Nicolas “Scud” Escudé is on No.8 court. How so? Well, the former player and current French Fed Cup captain is keeping an eye on the progress of Severine Beltrame – and progressing she certainly is, as she’s 5-3 up on Shenay Perry.

Alja Tomljanovic meanwhile has someone else keeping an eye on her – Mama Tomljanovic. She’s getting into the match more but has a mountain to climb after losing the opener 6-1 to Kaia Kanepi. The young Croat, ranked 179 in the world, has definite potential – power, a good service and even a deft enough touch to play some drops. Kanepi however was a class above in the first set – which after all is what she is. She’ll be in the top 75 at the end of this week.

11.15 am: Play just beginning, high-profile withdrawals
Play is just getting under way on 12 courts. Meanwhile, David Nalbandian has definitely withdrawn from Wimbledon to concentrate on being fully prepared for the Davis Cup. He had a bad hip injury which required surgery and he’s been out of action off-and-on for over a year now.

Rumour has it that big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic is also out with a foot injury – more news as and when we get it.

10.20 am: Hello one and all and welcome to the fourth and final day of the qualifying event for the 2010 Championships. The weather is nice and warm, though there is still a slight breeze - perfect conditions for a full day's play here at lovely Roehampton. Play starts at 11 am (BST) and there are 12 women's and 16 men's matches on the schedule, with the winners making it into the main draw.

While you're waiting for play to begin, why not listen to the podcast that Guy McCrea did last night and listen to interviews with Taylor Dent, Lisa Whybourn, Bernard Tomic and Monica Niculescu - all of whom are in action again in a few hours time?


Article from Wimbledon.org