Nicole Vaidisova completed a poor preparation for Wimbledon with a first-round 6-2, 6-4 loss to Olga Govortsova of Belarus in the Eastbourne International Women’s Open on Tuesday.
Vaidisova has lost her opening match in six of her eight tournaments since going down to Serena Williams in the fourth round at the Australian Open, a run that includes a first-round loss at the French Open and a quarter-final exit at Birmingham last week.
The 19-year-old Czech player reached the quarter-finals at Eastbourne and Wimbledon last year after making the semi-finals at the Australian Open and quarter-finals at the French but has slumped from No. 7 to No. 18 in the rankings and changed coaches.
PHOTO: AFP
“It was disappointing,” Vaidisova said. “I had a pretty good week last week so I was expecting a little more than I did today. It wasn’t my day.”
“Everything I tried to do fell flat. My serve wasn’t working, which is a big part of my game, and she used her opportunities well,” she said.
“I switched my team and it’s a matter of getting used to them and working hard again. It doesn’t take two days to get used to a change so I have to be patient,” Vaidisova said.
Former top-ranked Lindsay Davenport, the 1999 Wimbledon champion and 2001 Eastbourne winner, withdrew from the singles draw with a knee problem before her first-round match. She expected to be OK for Wimbledon.
“I’m so bummed that I can’t play here, I’ve been working the hardest since I was pregnant. I’m so disappointed,” she said.
Davenport, who returned to tennis last autumn after nine months away to give birth, has won four titles since her comeback.
Eighth-seeded Nadia Petrova overcame 13 double faults to be first into the quarter-finals when she beat Li Na of China 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3.
In other results, Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova beat Britain’s Melanie South 6-4, 6-4 and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark set up a second-round meeting with top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova.
Sybille Bammer of Austria edged Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 7-6 (9), 1-6, 7-5 to set up a clash with second-seeded Marion Bartoli.
France’s Virginie Razzano beat Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-4 and Ekaterina Makarova crushed Vera Dushevina 6-3, 6-0 in an all-Russian opener.
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