Llodra Thanks Mauresmo for Title; Henin Raises Grass Trophy; Weekend Round-up

Llodra, Mauresmo in Corner, Wins ATP Eastbourne

Assisted by former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo in his coaching corner, Frenchman Michael Llodra won the AEGON International grasscourt title on Sunday in Eastbourne, Great Britain, defeating Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5, 6-2 in the final.
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“For the past two weeks, we’ve discussed a lot about my game,” Llodra said of Mauresmo. “She’s been a great help and she’s helped me to prepare for my matches so that I feel more comfortable when I go out on the court. I have to thank Amelie, it’s a pleasure to work with her.”

The 30-year-old Llodra survived a rain delay and the play of Garcia-Lopez, who was appearing in his first career grasscourt final after a semifinal appearance last year.

Stakhovsky Beats Tipsarevic for 3rd Career Title at ATP ‘s-Hertogenbosch

The Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky defeated Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-0 to win his third career ATP title at the UNICEF Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Stakhovsky did not drop a set in five matches, capturing his career-first grasscourt title.

“I played really well today,” Stakhovsky said. “By the score, I believe this would be the easiest match of the week, but it definitely wasn’t as there was a lot of tension…I will play Sam Querrey on Tuesday, I believe [at Wimbledon]. It will be a tough match. He is top of his game having won titles on every surface this year.”

Qualifier Makarova Wins First Career Title at Eastbourne

Russian qualifier Ekaterina Makarova was the last player standing in Eastbourne, defeating Victoria Azarenka 7-6(5), 6-4 for her career-first title.

Makarova was a qualifier at Eastbourne the two previous years also, never surpassing the quarterfinals. En route to the final she defeated former US Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova and French Open runner-up Sam Stosur.

“I cannot believe I won the title. I’m thinking I have to play one more match — I don’t feel like the tournament is done,” Makarova said. “I started well today with no mistakes, but then I got a little nervous, maybe thinking I could win. But then I just threw that from my mind and played every point and it worked.” She is the first qualifier to win the title in Eastbourne.

Henin Caps Wimbledon Preparation with Dutch Grass Title

One of Justine Henin’s primary motivation in returning from retirement was winning a Wimbledon title, and the Belgian capped her preparation in grand style on Sunday, winning the UNIEF Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Andrea Petkovic.

Henin was broken early in all three sets but battled back for her fourth career grasscourt title.

“When I was down a break in the second, I don’t think many people would have thought I could come back,” said Henin, who trailed 0-3 in the third. “Today was harder than my other matches, because I really wanted to win, my mind was already in Wimbledon, and Andrea played a great match. She has a good game for grass — she hits the ball really flat and hard.”