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2012 AEGON International 

Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, England | 17-23 June

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2011 AEGON International 

Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, England | 11-18 June

Seppi finally seals maiden title

Andreas Seppi finally broke his ATP Tour duck with a fiercely-fought 7-6 3-6 5-3 triumph over tenacious Janko Tipsarevic, who retired at 8.30pm during a marathon match briefly interrupted by rain.

The Italian edged the opening set 7-5 on a tie-break but had few answers for Tipsarevic's constant probing in the second set. Seppi raced into a 4-0 lead in the decisive set but a swift shower meant the players patiently waited 20 minutes courtside for the Centre Court to dry, and the Serbian star complained to the umpire about poor light then spent time playing on his mobile phone.

The enforced break proved to give Tipsarevic the advantage as he took the next three games with aplomb. Yet Tipsarevic remaining dissatisfied with the conditions that he referred to the umpire as 'greasy' and complained that the 'scoreboard was shining. The crowd, who has been seated since 10.30am waiting for the weather to improve, had little sympathy with the Serb who was greeted with 'Get on with it!' shouts from the spectators.

Then Seppi reeled off the next games and was perilously close to winning on merit, when serving for the title at 15-0, only for the Serb to concede defeat after taking a tumble and injuring his thigh.

2011 FINAL // MATCH REPORT

Click for Seppi stuns Tipsarevic at Eastbourne video

18/06/11: what to expect at Eastbourne

With only two ATP Tour titles between the semi-finalists it is once again a disappointing men’s final four on paper, although the highest quality of tennis will definitely be on show.

However, if it is a Kei Nishikori (left) versus Igor Kunitsyn final then this would be a repeat of last year’s qualifying encounter! Expect some fireworks between the intriguing showdown of Janko Tipsarevic and Nishikori who both show exceptional footwork, speed around the court and sheer bravery with powerful groundstrokes.

The tattooed Serbian star has defeated Nishikori three times this year, with the Japanese no1 keen to turn the tables. Kunitsyn and Andreas Seppi are set to slug it out from the baseline in the other semi-final when they meet each other for the first time on the circuit. Russian world no71 Kunistyn may trail the Italian in the world rankings by 20 places but the result rests on a knife-edge with little to choose between the pair.

MATCH REPORTS

PREVIEW // who can win 2011 Eastbourne?

Kei Nishikori beat Igor Kunitsyn in three closely-fought sets at 2010 Eastbourne in the qualifying event, revenge for a poor defeat at 2010 Washington.

Janko Tipsarevic (left) has triumphed three times over Italian Andreas Seppi, most recently at 2010 Dubai, but has always struggled to sew up victory.

Igor Kunitsyn will be aiming to seek revenge if he faces Janko Tipsarevic after the Russian was brushed aside in front of his home crowd at 2010 St Petersburg despite winning their previous two matches.

Andreas Seppi has never played exciting Japanese ace Kei Nishikori but is eight places higher in the rankings as world no51.

2011 pre-tournament news

Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, England | 11-18 June

Garcia-Lopez relies on luck | Will it be third time lucky for Guillermo Garcia-Lopez? The Spaniard (above) was halted in the semi-final stage at the inaugural ATP Tour at Devonshire Park in 2009 and was beaten in last year's final by French ace Michael Llodra.

The no4 seed, who recently reached the 3rd Round at Roland Garros, should fear no-one in his quarter of the draw despite this event being his sole grass court warm-up for Wimbledon.

Top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be racing down to Eastbourne after his rain-delayed final versus Andy Murray at Queen's Club, where he was formidable and even saw off world no1 Rafael Nadal, but faces a stern first round opponent in Denis Istomin and potentially Radek Stepanek in the second round.

No8 seed Phillip Kohlschreiber arrives having won the Gerry Weber Open in Halle but faces the winner of ex-world no1 Lleyton Hewitt and Belgian Olivier Rochus if he overcomes Argentine Carlos Berlocq.

2010 AEGON International 

DAY-BY-DAY NEWS | FEATURES | RESULTS

French flair's final flurry

AEGON International final, Eastbourne | 19 June 2010

Mauresmo gives Llodra lift to title

French ace Michael Llodra (left) was crowned 2010 Eastbourne champion after brushing aside Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in their baseline battle, but only after wisely following vital tactical advice from compatriot and ex-Wimbledon winner Amelie Mauresmo.

Veteran Llodra hit 11 aces to dismiss the Spaniard in the rain-interrupted final to win 7-5, 6-2 in quickfire 67 minutes and earn his second title of the season.

World no46 Llodra, who had hit 50 aces at the tournament to reach the final showdown, had few problems with his magnificent serve to hold all 10 service games against Garcia-Lopez.

The opening set was a tight cat-and-mouse contest, with Llodra securing the only serve break in the 11th game for a deserved 6-5 lead and nine aces.

Left-hander Llodra was constantly getting caught out by Garcia-Lopez's powerful passing shots, so had to abandon his usually reliable serve and volley tactics.

The 30-year-old served out the set to edge ahead without facing a single break point, and held Garcia-Lopez to just two points on the return in the first set.

When rain briefly interrupted play during the third game of the second set, the Centre Court crowd were feeling the cold and hoping for a ray of sunshine to break through.

But the only brightness was Llodra's much improved game after the short delay. After further advice from on-watching short-term coach Mauresmo (left), Llodra lifted his game to move up a gear and outplay his clay court expert opponent.

The Spanish world no41's costly double fault gave Llodra the lead but then the French ace made a meal out of completing the rout.

Llodra had to save two break points, the only ones he face in the final, and was cagey in breaking Garcia-Lopez's serve in the eighth game of the second set to capture the title. This was Llodra's fifth career title and his second on grass after triumphing at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2004.

Llodra said: "I know I can play well on grass, but you still have to do the job out there on the court. It's always a pleasure to win a title, it doesn't happen every week so you have to enjoy it when it happens. 

"It's been a great week and I felt good right from the beginning. At 6-5 in the first set it was a great time to break and I knew that if I stayed focused I would get my chances. Then it helped to serve first in the second set.”

"When I came here I had a good sensation and it was a very good week, it's been really nice. I've been working with Amelie [Mauresmo] for two weeks now, we discuss a lot my game outside the court so I now feel more comfortable. I know the job I have to do, I can win or I can lose but I feel very relaxed, so I have to say a big thank you to Amelie."

2009 final report

AEGON International | 20 June

Dmitry Tursunov (Rus) defeated Frank Dancevic (Can)  6-3, 7-6

"It’s good to win, it doesn’t matter which surface it is on,” served up newly-crowned Eastbourne 2009 singles champion Dmitry Tursunov after capturing his first title of the season.

The Miami-based Russian (left), originally from Moscow, had struggled in the first three rounds to overcome opponents but had few problems in sealing success at the AEGON International at the expense of qualifier Frank Dancevic 6-3, 7-6.

The tournament no2 seed walked away with the opening set as Canadian serve and volley expert Dancevic played defensively. And Tursunov's participation was in slight jeopardy after he required treatment to his ankle midway through the second set, which had previously resulted in a two-month rest from the ATP Tour.

“It's a great feeling. I suffered a bit in the second set but now I feel great,"  admitted Tursunov. "Playing on grass can be tough because we only get three or four weeks on it so players are a bit like cats in water, but it seems like a good surface to me. Obviously it’s given me some practice on grass, which is very important in the lead-in to Wimbledon as last season I didn't play as many matches ahead of Wimbledon."

I know I can play well on grass, but you still have to do a job out there on the surface

- Michael Llodra