The ongoing problems with nonstop rain in Eastbourne has affected the scheduling enormously and has forced many players to have to play two matches in one day. I looked at the four matches that stand out and shouldn’t be missed on Day 7 of the Aegon International.
Jelena Ostapenko [10] vs Johanna Konta [5]
The first WTA match scheduled for Centre Court at the Aegon International in Eastbourne sees the reigning Roland-Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko take on Britain’s Wimbledon hope, Johanna Konta.
It takes some getting used to when introducing Ostapenko as a maiden Grand Slam winner, but she played great first-strike tennis to conquer Paris over the two weeks and now started her tournament in Eastbourne with a decent win over Carla Suarez Navarro.
What many people don’t realise is that Konta’s coach, Wim Fissette, actually worked with Ostapenko on a trial basis over the week period in the WTA tournament in Linz in Austria, so will have picked up a few things about the Latvian’s game in that timeframe at least.
The theme throughout this match will be who can inflict the greatest amount of damage in the shortest space of time. Both players are really going to look to make the most of the conditions and try to strike through the wind and execute quick, sharp returns in the best way possible. We’ve seen a lot of that from Ostapenko this year, but Konta has the capability of really taking time away from both sides, as we saw in the Sydney final against Agnieszka Radwanska, where she blew her off the court.
Konta took part in an interview via phone call and expressed how the rise of Ostapenko really isn’t a surprise among her peers: “She’s a dangerous player, and she’s coming off obviously winning her maiden Grand Slam title. I think she’s obviously coming in with a tremendous amount of confidence and hunger to play. I’m really looking forward to playing her. It’s not as out of the blue for us as it may seem for you guys”, she concluded as she talked about the Roland-Garros win of Ostapenko.
The match should deliver on all fronts. A newly-crowned Grand Slam winner vs Britain’s greatest hope for a Grand Slam winner in the women’s game for quite some time and both will try to play the game in a style that fits a grass court perfectly.
Prediction: Konta in three sets.
Kristina Mladenovic [9] vs Svetlana Kuznetsova [7]
In a repeat of the Madrid semi-final earlier this year, Kristina Mladenovic – the No.9 seed – faces the No.7 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. Mladenovic is one of the standout performers on tour this season. She’s won her first WTA title, made a Grand Slam quarter-final and now looks a realistic contender at most majors, which means for exciting times for French tennis fans looking for the next major winner. Mladenovic likes the chaos surrounding her as she rises up the rankings and really embraces it like all Grand Slam champions should.
I spoke to her in Birmingham and she told me that her game isn’t feeling as comfortable on the grass in comparison to how she felt on clay, where she made the final of Madrid and Stuttgart and made the Quarter-Final in Roland-Garros. Grass is the surface she takes more time to adjust to, because it involves playing a very different style of game to what you grow accustomed to on the clay, but there’s no reason why she can’t go far at this year’s Wimbledon. Why? Because she believes in her game and believes in how she approaches each and every match. Not everyone does that on both tours.
I think Mladenovic is the slight favourite because it’s the 2017 season and she has won match after match this season. Kuznetsova just about got through a very long match against Mona Barthel, but isn’t as effective on the grass as the clay and hard surfaces, where she won her two Grand Slam titles on. Mladenovic also holds a 2-0 head-to-head lead, but are yet to meet on a grass court.
Prediction: Mladenovic in three sets.
Caroline Wozniacki [6] vs Elena Vesnina [12]
In a battle of the former Eastbourne champions, former World No.1 and 2009 Eastbourne winner Caroline Wozniacki faces 2013 champion Elena Vesnina. Vesnina’s form has nosedived since the historic win at Indian Wells, where she was an unlikely win, but reminded people that she’s not only a very good doubles player and she showed that at Wimbledon last year, where she made the semi-final – her first in singles.
The Russian’s clay court season wasn’t great but she’ll hope that the grass court season is a different story for her and she can wipe the slate clean. What intrigues me is how Vesnina tries to show off her array of doubles skills by coming forward and not allowing Wozniacki to thrive from the baseline rallies. Physically Wozniacki is better than nearly everyone on tour, but the grass surface is something she’s not entirely comfortable on at the best of times. The head-to-head suggests that Wozniacki holds the advantage over Vesnina, but I have a sinking feeling that Vesnina pulls off the upset victory in this one tomorrow.
Prediction: Vesnina in two sets.
Mischa Zverev [6] vs Bernard Tomic
Mischa Zverev’s rise into the Top 30 of the Men’s game is kind of remarkable. In 2015, he was ranked outside the Top 1000, nursing a wrist injury and losing the will to compete, but a pep talk from his younger brother, Alexander, encouraged him to give tennis another go. He managed to make his first major Quarter-Final at this year’s Australian Open at the age of 29 and his game looks good on the grass, because of his net coverage and his commitment to coming forward time after time.
I think his clay court season went better than expected with that final run to Geneva, where he lost to Stan Wawrinka, but entering Wimbledon as the No.27 seed is almost a way of emphasising and confirming that the hard work has really paid off for the German.
His opponent in the second round is Bernard Tomic, who is a former Quarter-Finalist at Wimbledon in 2011. Tomic’s laid-back, languished and almost carefree approach outside of tennis often reflects in his tennis game on court and that has been the case in a lot of his matches this year. He’s a former Top 17 player, but doesn’t have the fire and determination to want to better himself like someone like Alexander Zverev does.
Prediction: Mischa Zverev in two sets.
