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BRITISH WINNER AS
BORWELL REACHES SECOND ROUND OF DFS CLASSIC
British number four Sarah Borwell had one of the best results
of her career as she moved into the second round of the DFS
Classic today. The world number 257 outlasted fellow Brit
Melanie South 7-6(3),3-6,6-3 in 2 hours and 4 mins in opening
round action at the Edgbaston Priory Club, Birmingham.
Borwell fired down 15 aces, including two in a row to finish
the match as she recorded her first even win at main draw
level on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. She will move to a career
high ranking when the new rankings are released next Monday.
“I’m really excited to make it through as I was
so nervous before the match,” said Borwell. “When
I looked at the draw and saw I was playing a fellow Brit I
knew it was a good opportunity for both of us, but I also
put added pressure on myself because of that.”
“We played some great tennis at times as we both knew
there was so much at stake. I’m the fittest I’ve
ever been and playing my best tennis just now, so everything
is coming together nicely.”
The 26 year old from Middlesbrough had a double reason to
celebrate after being awarded a wildcard into the singles
and doubles of Wimbledon. It will be her second appearance
at the All England Club after losing a tight first round match
to American Shenay Perry last year.
She will next face rising American Jamea Jackson, the world
number 81, who removed 10th seed Klara Koukalova of the Czech
Republic 6-4,6-1. She was one of three seeds to lose on the
opening day with 11th seed Catalina Castano of Colombia also
exiting along with 16th seed Laura Granville of the USA, who
was a semi-finalist last year. Granville was upset by Zi Yan
of China, one half of the Olympic doubles champions, 6-4,6-4.
British number three Katie O’Brien was defeated by
16 year Japanese junior sensation Ayumi Morita 6-4,2-6,6-1
in the final match of the day on centre court.
Tuesday’s order of play is headlined by the first appearance
of top seed and two-time defending champion Maria Sharapova.
The Russian takes on American qualifier Ahsha Rolle, in the
biggest match of the 21 year old’s career.
“I’m really excited to play Maria,” said
Rolle. “I’ve never played such a high ranked player
before. I love to play on grass, unlike a lot of the girls,
as I strive to get to the net as much as I can. So as long
as my knee holds up, I am looking forward to giving her a
great match”.
Centre court action begins with the match between Indian
sensation Sania Mirza, the 14th seed and Alona Bondarenko
of Ukraine, followed by the clash of former top ten stars
as Alicia Molik of Australia takes on Vera Zvonareva of Russia.
British number one Anne Keothavong is next up as she takes
on grass court expert Eleni Daniilidou of Greece, with Sharapova
ending the singles proceeding on day two.
Daniela Hantuchova, the 3rd seed was forced to withdraw from
the event with a wrist injury and will be replaced by lucky
loser Lilia Osterloh of the USA.
The main draw of the DFS Classic will run between 12th and
18th June at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham.
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