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2011 tournament news

Updated during the tournament

singles	dates	go to individual news pages
	13 June	click here for monday news, draw & videos
	14 June	click here for tuesday news, draw & videos
	15 June	click here for wednesday news, draw & videos
	16 June	click here for thursday news, draw & videos
	17 June	click here for friday news, draw & videos
	18 June	click here for saturday news, draw & order of play

2011 pre-tournament news

Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, England | 11-18 June

Draw's double trouble | Serena and Venus Williams (pictured) are dangerously unseeded in a top-quality draw of 32 that has attracted most of the world's top players. Wildcard Serena makes her competitive comeback since being crowned 2010 Wimbledon Championship and faces Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in the opening round, and if victorious plays the winner of top see Vera Zvonareva and British wildcard Heather Watson. Serena could face Sam Stosur or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarter-finals and probably Victoria Azarenka or Marion Bartoli in the last four. Venus last played in January's Australian Open and will play no8 seed Andrea Petkovic in the first round, the same player that she retired against at Melbourne. Venus said: "We're not here for results, but we are going to do our best to take home titles. I'm very excited to be back, I love playing - it's my job." If Venus gets past Petkovic she will face either Julia Goerges or Ana Ivanovic, with Li Na or Daniela Hantuchova potentially lying in wait at the quarter-final stage. 

Shine the lights it's 'Vogue' | Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was one of a number of WTA Tour stars to be involved in Saturday's photo-shoot for the Turkish version of 'Vogue' magazine. Pavlyuchenkova turned up for practice at Devonshire Park with her hair still up and in full make-up to hit with glamour girl Julia Goerges. The German ace said: "I'll play Ana (Ivanovic) in the 1st Round, there are tough draws here at Eastbourne - it's nice getting straight away into great competition on grass."

Stosur serves her predictions | Gutsy Australian Sam Stosur (pictured), an Eastbourne regular and current  world's no 10, will face Russian Nadia Petrova in the opening round and said: "There's a handful of people who can do very well and on form I think Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova and Julia Goerges are possibly playing best. I grew up playing on a hardcourt so I'd like think I've got a reasonable chance although grass is probably the most difficult for me. You've got to take it each match at a time and try not think 'the last few months haven't been as good as I wanted them to be and this this isn't going to be a good tournament'."

Brit special for top pair | Nottingham finalist Elena Baltacha and Heather Watson, the British no1 and no2 respectively, have been handed wildcards - as expected. The world no74 Baltacha made the 2nd Round of the French Open and has been drawn against French ace Aravan Rezai, Guernsey's Watson recently cracked the world's top 100 but faces a stern test as she been handed a draw against top seed Vera Zvonareva. Watson said: "I got amazing support at Birmingham, let's see if Eastbourne can match it."  British no3 Anne Keothavong saw off France's Alize Cornet in the opening round of qualifying 6-4 6-2, but the other four Brits - Naomi Broady, Anna Fitzpatyrick, Kate O'Brien and Emily Webley-Smith were all halted at the first hurdle.

Ivanovic hits great form | Serbian star Ana Ivanovic warmed-up for Eastbourne in style at Birmingham, reeling off her first three matches in under three hours to march into a semi-final showdown with fellow Eastbourne entrant Daniela Hanchukova. The former world no1 was having a resurge following her French Open exit, despite seeking a new coach after she stopped working with Heinz Gunthard, until Hanchukova haltedher 6-7 6-3 6-2. Ivanovic, who is currently only travelling with a hitting partner, said: "Things happen very fast on grass, but it was the first time I have played four matches in a row for a long time. I have to find a good coach, someone who will commit and be willing to travel, and someone with whom to get along because you do seem to spend a lot of time together."

Kleybanova K'O'd | Russian ace Alisa Kleybanova, who withdrew from the French Open citing illness, has withdrawn from Eastbourne and the Wimbledon Championships. 

Navratilova replaces Novotna | The legendary Martina Navratilova has replaced Jana Novotna in the Legends Exhibition event at Eastbourne between 12-13 June. Navratilova (pictured) triumphed in 11 singles titles at Devonshire Park, and joins Spaniard Conchita Martinez and Swiss Martina Hingis in the event that includes Holland's Wimbledon winner Richard Kraijeck, French flair master Henri Leconte and former British no1 Greg Rusedski.

King is coming | Two-time Grand Slam Doubles champion Vania King (pictured) will make her Eastbourne debut after Russian Alisa Kleybanova withdrew from the tournament and Wimbledon. The American Fed Cup player, who followed German Julia Goerges into Eastbourne on June 9, joins her high-profile compatriots Serena and Venus Williams in the most competitive tournament ever seen at Devonshire Park but has to go through qualifying. King said: "I'm looking forward to the challenge, but Eastbourne's cold and windy. I can't go out and rely on hitting a serve or a big shot as I'm only 5'5", so I have to be creative. I can still improve on a lot of things, including my movement, but I look forward to playing.

Kanepi's warm-up killed | Kaia Kanepi was upstaged by Russian qualifier Arina Rodionova 6-4 6-2 at Birmingham's AEGON Classic as top seed. The Estonian world no17 said: “Last year when I played in qualifying it was much easier for me in the main draw, I didn’t move her around and it’s pretty difficult to have a ‘Plan B’ on grass if your game’s not working.”

Serena eager for Eastbourne | Four-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams (pictured) will make her Eastbourne debut as a wildcard. The 13-Grand Slam winner joins her sister Venus in the main draw on their competitive comeback, Serena said: "Serena's back! I'm excited to be healthy enough to compete, as these past 12 months have been extremely tough and character-building. I'm thankful to my family, friends and fans for their support and really looking to playing on grass again." Serena watched Venus from the sidelines at the 1998 event at Devonshire Park, where Venus won two matches but fell in the third - more distracted my her falling beads onto the grass courts than her opponent.

French Open champs set for Eastbourne | China's Li Na, crowned as Asia's first ever Grand Slam singles champion at Roland Garros, is likely to skip Birmingham and concentrate on warming up for Wimbledon by competing at Eastbourne's Devonshire Park. The classic French Open never materialised as powerhouse Li staved off a set point to beat defending French Open winner Francesca Schiavone, an Eastbourne regular, 6-4 7-6. Li is set to move up to world no4 and is the probable top seed for the 2011 AEGON International.

All that glistens is not gold | Many local residents are fuming with the LTA over their latest tennis posters and flyers that airbrushes all the stones from its beach and replaces them with golden sands. Eastbourne councillor David Elkin explained: “The shingle is an iconic part of Eastbourne.” And an LTA spokesman admitted: “We wanted to create a buzz and it appears that we've done so.” Our team at EastbourneTennis.com have had to answer emails and texts asking whether the beach (pictured) is now sandy as they would holiday at the seaside resort rather than just turn up for the day.

Sharapova still yet to make debut | Russian beauty Maria Sharapova sensationally withdrew from the AEGON Classic at Edgbaston's Priory Club, her usual haunt as a Wimbledon warm-up, with an illness sustained during her semi-final defeat at the French Open. Although the ex-Wimbledon champion has never played at Eastbourne, it was hoped that she may opt for a wildcard entry for Devonshire Park this year.

Venus' star turn | Venus Williams will compete at Eastbourne for the first time since 1998. The 30-year-old (right) usually returns to her Florida base to prepare for Wimbledon after Roland Garros. But the five-time Wimbledon champion hasn't played on the WTA Tour since the 2011 Australian Open, where she retired because of a hip injury in the third round. She has signed up with her sister Serena to play in July's World Team Tennis League in America, a nine-game event devised by ex-professional Billie Jean-King straight after playing Wimbledon.

Stosur sets goal | Samantha Stosur, the 2010 French Open finalist, returns to Devonshire Park having reached the 2010 AEGON International semi-finals. The Australian fell to eventual shock champion Russian Ekaterina Makarova. Stosur, a favourite at Eastbourne, said: I'm so excited to be returning to Eastbourne and I'm hopeful of going even further this year at Devonshire Park. Andrea Petkovic's ranking ascension shows no signs of slowing down, as a month after she rose to a career-high No.15, she went up three more spots following her victory in Strasbourg.

Petrovic on the rise | Andreas Petrovic, who cracked the world's top 25 at the start of this season, is edging ever closer to becoming the first German on the WTA Tour to become a top 10 hit since compatriot Anke Huber in October 2000.

Hingi returns | Former professional Martina Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam champion and a doubles winner at Eastbourne, is set to play in The Legends exhibition event at Devonshire Park on 12-13 June. The 'Swiss Miss' will play in the singles on the opening Sunday and with Boris Becker in the mixed doubles on the Monday. Hingis said: “I've got fond memories of the event as I won the 1999 doubles event with Anna Kournikova, so it’s a delight to be invited back to Eastbourne."

Wozniacki skips Eastbourne | Caroline Wozniacki is a surprise not to be playing at Eastbourne 2011, having won so spectacularly in 2009. The great Dane and world no1 lacked her usual bite at Devonshire Park last year and will instead play in the UNICEF Open in the Netherlands. However, rumours are rife that Wozniacki avoided Devonshire Park this year as she did not want to face her nemesis German ace Julia Goerges before Wimbledon. Wozniacki (pictured) said: I can't wait to play the grass season again. 

2011 daily tournament news

Wednesday

Saturday

18 June 2011

All the news from Devonshire Park

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