Wozniacki, Murray Fan Favorites at ATP/WTA Eastbourne

by Staff | June 23rd, 2018, 10:17 pm
  • 47 Comments

A strong women’s field and a weak men’s field given a jolt by unseeded Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka headline the Nature Valley International combined men’s and women’s events this week in Eastbourne.

NATURE VALLEY INTERNATIONAL
EASTBOURNE, Great Britain; surface: grass

Women’s Seeds: Caroline Wozniacki, Karolina Pliskova, Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber, Jelena Ostapenko, Julia Goerges, Daria Kasatkina, Ashleigh Barty, Elise Mertens, Magdalena Rybarikova, Anastasija Sevastova, Kiki Bertens, Johanna Konta, Barbora Strycova, Daria Gavrilova, Carla Suarez Navarro


Women’s Floaters: Camila Giorgi, Irina-Camelia Begu, Dominika Cibulkova, Ekaterina Makarova, Aggie Radwanska

Women’s Notes:

All 16 seeds receive opening-round byes…

Three of the Top 10 headline a strong Eastbourne field a week before Wimbledon…

Tough starts for (1) Wozniacki vs. the Giorgi/Begu winner, (4) Kerber vs. the Cibulkova/Makarova winner, and (15) Gavrilova vs. Radwanska…

Wildcards were awarded to Sam Stosur and Brits Harriet Dart, Katie Swan and Heather Watson…

Pulling out of the field were world No. 1 Simona Halep, CiCi Bellis, Naomi Osaka, Lesia Tsurenko and Elena Vesnina…

Former champions in the field are Pliskova (2017), Cibulkova (2016), Makarova (2010), Wozniacki (2009), Radwanska (2008) and Kuznetsova (2004).

Men’s Seeds: Diego Schwartzman, Kyle Edmund, Denis Shapovalov, Marco Cecchinato, Leonardo Mayer, David Ferrer, Steve Johnson, Marton Fucsovics

Men’s Floaters: Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, (WC) Cameron Norrie, Andreas Seppi, Gilles Muller, Gilles Simon, Daniil Medvedev, Mischa Zverev

Men’s Notes:

The unseeded Murray and Wawrinka are the story here as the seeds contain no Top 10 players and only two in the Top 20…

The Top 4 seeds receive opening-round byes…

Murray and Wawrinka square off first round, winner to meet (2) Edmund…Other openers of interest are (8) Fuchsovics vs. the grass-ready Brit (WC) Norrie, the rookie (4) Ceccinato vs. the veteran Seppi, (5) Mayer vs. Simon (winner to meet Muller), and (7) Johnson vs. Medvedev (winner to face M.Zverev)…

(3) Shapovalov starts against the all-American Jared Donaldson vs. Taylor Fritz winner…

Wildcards were awarded to Murray, Wawrinka and Norrie…

Withdrawing from the event were Alexandr Dolgopolov, Peter Gojowczyk, Filip Krajinovic, Feliciano Lopez, and Tennys Sandgren…

Seppi (2011) is the lone former champion in the field.

 


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47 Comments for Wozniacki, Murray Fan Favorites at ATP/WTA Eastbourne

AndyMira Says:

Andy vs Stan??Oh God!..This is tough!!…Stan’s form also still not very good atm…And i picked Andy in my Bracket…So,hopefully Andy in 3…


Holly Says:

My heart sank when I read that Stan was Murray’s opener here because Stan’s had many more matches under his belt but who knows, maybe Andy can pull something out of the bag!
The last time they met at the tour finals, Andy won, so hoping for a Murray win! It’s a tough draw!


j-kath Says:

A-M & Holly: Andy is normally a better grass player than Stan – but what worries me is it will probably take 3 sets to win – meaning both players will feel more tired than they should – given that they are returning from injuries – not good for Wimbledon.


Andy Mira Says:

Jk….Yeah..Very agree with u…But on the lighter note,meeting with Stan will also bring the best in Andy…That way he can assess where his game at…

About being fatigue,Andy certainly will feel fatigue for a while …coz of lack of match fitness and it will take time for his body to adjust to the grueling on tour…After that insyaallah..if his body don’t suffer any setback,we’re going to see a very competitive Andy in the next 2,3,4 months JK….

C’mon Andy!!…In u we trust!!


RZ Says:

What next? Murray drawn against Fed in Wimbledon round 1?


Holly Says:

RZ: Very funny! The way it’s going I wouldn’t be surprised if Murray had a horror-draw of: Fed, Djoko and Stan at Wimbledon! That’s the problem with the ranking system. Once a player drops down the rankings it’s horrendously difficult to climb back up without a bit of luck….


Margot Says:

Gonna say it again, Andy may not even play. Guess it will depend on how he does/feels at Eastbourne.


j-kath Says:

Yep to Margot – with the caveat that even if he goes out in round 1 vs Stan, he may still have self-belief and in his case that’s a plus – as he is as stubborn as anyone can be…. unless the injury(ies) are still truly dormant.


Holly Says:

@Margot: Maybe he will play Wimbledon, maybe not but in the interim he has to keep working to see where his game is and what needs to be done. No easy way forward and there will be a lot of losing before he starts winning again, same as others who have clawed their way back. Del Potro is a good example of this….


j-kath Says:

RZ: Wow, wow!!!!!!!!!!


j-kath Says:

Holly: If Andy is really over his injury, he’ll gallop up the rankings (not saying top 5 – but could be within top 8 by year end)….hope so, because me + friend will go for year-end London event – but only if he is there.


RZ Says:

Yay, Andy won! Stats for both him and Stan look pretty dismal, though. Sounds like it was not a great serving or returning day for either guy. Difference seems to be that Andy saved all of his break points


j-kath Says:

RZ: Really? I was mad with today’s BBC tennis presentation – they stated the Andy/Stan match would be televised….as it wasn’t I followed various point options. The score on set 1 was 6-1 ….a big difference, yes? No?. Second set they were scraping a bit, but still, it is always about the Win – especially with two returning wounded “soldiers”.


Margot Says:

Andeeeee! Stan was awful so difficult to gauge Andy’s level, but he seemed to be moving OK and was really sharp at times.. Kath, I watched online. Apart from the stream freezing at irritatingly frequent intervals, it was OK.


RZ Says:

J-Kath – I was only following the scores, so I can’t speak to the performance level, but as I said, the stats looked pretty dismal for both men other than Andy saving 4/4 break points. Seems like neither guy served nor returned well.
https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/2018/741/MS030/match-stats

Margot – Agree that it’s hard to gauge. We’ll know more with the Edmund match.


j-kath Says:

This is a UK Nwsp. so there may be prejudice assumed – but is usually fair….for what it’s worth:

https://metro.co.uk/2018/06/25/andy-murray-dominates-stan-wawrinka-secure-first-comeback-win-7659169/


j-kath Says:

RZ/Margo/and Me:

For better or worse, thru sickness and health…..we stand united (until we have to sit down)…

PS: Andy can usually beat Kyle….hoping he is not too tired…not counting my chickens with this one..


RZ Says:

“Dominating” may be fair with a 6-1 6-3 score, but definitely a bit of a stretch to say he served brilliantly when the stats show that he only got 54% of first serves in (even if he won 81% of those serves). Maybe some of those serves were brilliant, but doesn’t sound like a brilliant serving performance overall.


RZ Says:

@J-Kath – LOL. I am happy to be united with you and Margot, but I agree that we will have to sit down, especially as Andy has a tendency to put his fans through the wringer.


j-kath Says:

RZ: Agree re Andy’s serves – but when he was more “normal” he was just the same – always been his greatest weakness…as long as he wins them…not OK with me but I judge on the result.

Chicken counting tomorrow!!!


Margot Says:

Gals, Andy is up to 149 in the ranking now so….149 reasons to be chipper…;)


j-kath Says:

Yippee – Margot/Us. An improvement of 10, I think.? – (without checking).


Humble Rafa Says:

I want to congratulate someone who won a tennis match after 350 days. Must be nice to win and re-enter the top 150.


j-kath Says:

HR: Thank you HR for your congrats re. Andy….no matter how they are phrased. He’s trying to recover from injury so keep yourself free of injury as well….the road back is long and winding.


AndyMira Says:

Just woke up & see the scores…WHA?WHA?WGA?WHATT??IS THIS REAL??I’M NOT DREAMIN’??WWWHHHHEEEEEEE!!!!

In my Bracket.i picked Andy to beat Stan & Kyle…And there’s ‘geegee’ who picked Andy to win the whole thing!,,If geegee is right,i’m going to kick my own backside for giving Andy just 2 Rd of win!!URGHH!!!


AndyMira Says:

Oh!..Forgot to say….C’MON ANDY!!!,,,,,I KNOW U CAN DO IT!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!


Humble Rafa Says:

Some people are asking why Mr. Lady Forehand has not committed to Wimbledon yet. The fault is all yours. You haven’t begged him per proper British manners worth of Sir Lady Forehand. Once you do that, he will play.


skeezer Says:

Apparently Mr. Butt-Picker wants to insist on name calling other players. Why?
#fairisfair


AndyMira Says:

Hey guys!…Do u guys know where we can watch Andy/Kyle online for free?


Willow Says:

Is there any news on Andys Wimbledon participation anybody know, err Margot, J-Kath, RZ, Daniel ?


Madmax Says:

Margot!

I have been following AM this last week, but checked in to see that he has won against Stanis. You will know that I love Stan, but I am so very pleased that Andy now has his first match under his belt after a year, and you, you must be thrilled.

Congratulations on your win Margot.


AndyMira Says:

Err…I guess the answer is no!…heh heh…Hokay!


Willow Says:

oh dear Petra pulls out, hope shes fit for Wimby :-/


Margot Says:

Cheers, Mad Max. Just have to wait and see how Andy’s body holds up.


j-kath Says:

A-M:

Just sat down to see what U are all up to…..re. Andy/Kyle – just heard BBC will be dipping into the Red Button for most of the Women’s Matches as the main programme is going to World Football.

Radio commentary is supposedly all we’ll get even for the Women’s matches (and occasional highlights from Andy vs Kyle.

Sorry – to my knowledge -no free tennis for the guys.

Willow: Andy will only decide if he’s playing Wimb. at the last minute – he recognises the possible 5-setters he could face – hence realism is the name of the game. PS: I posted re. Andy on a previous link….you probably were at work.


AndyMira Says:

Oh really JK?Awwwww!….I want to see Andy/Kyle’s match so bad!!…I guess i have to settle for livescores only!…And thank u so much for your response JK!…Really really appreciate it Boss!!Hehe…

Hope Andy will win again today!….C’Mon Andy!!!


Margot Says:

AM/Kath: http://live.shwidget.com/freelivematch/5900802614437960.html I haven’t caught anything nasty from it…………..yet.


AndyMira Says:

Oh!Thanks M!!…I’ll try it for sure!!


j-kath Says:

Margot: Me too – be great if it works (my computer needs a service – so fingers crossed).


Willow Says:

Thanks Margot and J-Kath, J-Kath not at work but busy, will check it out now cheers ;-)


Giles Says:

Poor Andy, his woes continue. ☹️


j-kath Says:

I couldn’t log on to Margot link….so had to follow scores only. Was Andy obviously totally not up to scratch or Kyle stunning? Either way I guess Andy won’t go to Wimb.


Margot Says:

Andy is clearly not ready for Wimbledon, gonna take quite a while to get match ready.
Andy looked slow, sore and extremely rusty. Stan was poor so it was difficult to gauge Andy’s form but Kyle is clearly a cut above and it showed.


j-kath Says:

Yep Margot…at least we now know.


AndyMira Says:

That’s alright Andy!…take your time…This is a learning process…
Keep on doing it until u get it right,okay?

#INUWETRUSTANDY!!


Humble Rafa Says:

Clearly, I am not ready to join the Pithy Andy party. Progress is slow, hopefully he can win a few lower level tournaments and retire to be a knight.

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