Day One Action
by Beth Knizer
Welcome to the 26th edition of the Britannic Asset Management Championships, Devonshire Park, Eastbourne. This tournament is the longest running in Europe and fourth oldest on the Sanex WTA Tour. Further, this is On The Line's second consecutive year of coverage at Eastbourne. We hope you will comeback every day to hear about the tournament!
Eastbourne has the number three ranked player on the Sanex WTA Tour, Lindsay Davenport as it's top seed. Davenport is coming back from a long layoff due to injury. She is hoping for a prosperous week in preperation for the Wimbledon fortnight. The tournaments second seed has just won the 2001 DFS Classic in Birmingham. She is France's Nathalie Tauziat. The 34-year old Tauziat is in her final year on the Sanex WTA Tour and always has had success on the grass courts. Several noteable players have withdrawn from the tournament due to injury. They include Anna Kourinkova (recovering from stress fracture) and Amelie Mauresmo (fatigue).
Chanda Rubin def. Ai Sugiyama 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Second Round
Centre Court
Previous head-to-head: 1-0 (first match since 1995)
Two talented grass players whose last meeting was on courts at Roland Garros, treated the crowd to a marvelous display of piercing groundstrokes. Sugiyama utilized her doubles prowess (currently ranked #1) to capture the second set. Despite being off the Tour since Berlin due to injuries, Rubin stepped up her game a notch and won the decisive third set.
Magui Serna def. Amy Frazier 6-1, 6-2
Centre Court
Previous head-to-head: 1-0 (2001 Miami)
She calls grass her favorite surface despite growing up on the clay courts in Spain. Young Spanish lefty Magui Serna dazzled the crowd and easily disposed of her American opponent, Amy Frazier in straight sets.
Wandering around the grounds....
On The Line thought it would be interesting to show some action from wandering the practice courts in forms of photos. Here they are:
Guess who?
Another new feature we thought to try is "Guess Who". The featured player will be playing in the main draw either of singles or doubles at Eastbourne. Initially, we'll not give any hints. The answer will be found in the following days report. Send your guess to us at On The Line. Photoshop filters will be applied to the 'player'. Hope you enjoy!Guess who!
