O’Brien leads British charge at AEGON International qualifying

Written by: Staff on 11th June 2010

O'Brien leads British charge at AEGON International qualifying |

Katie O’Brien will lead the British charge in qualifying for the AEGON International at Eastbourne, which starts on Saturday June 12. Heather Watson, Melanie South, Naomi Broady, Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith will all be attempting to join Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong in the main draw of the prestigious Sony Ericsson WTA Tour grass-court event.

“The qualifying draw at Eastbourne is always really strong but I’ve qualified here before so that gives me confidence that I can win a few matches,” said O’Brien. “The grass here is always in superb condition and it really does give you the best possible preparation for Wimbledon.”

Eighteen-year-old Watson, who made her home debut at a WTA Tour event at this week’s AEGON Classic, said she was looking forward to continuing her grass-court education on the famous courts of Devonshire Park. “I’m so happy to be getting another opportunity and I will try and make the most of it,” said the Guernsey-born teenager. “I’m starting to feel more and more comfortable on the grass and once again I’ll be playing against some of the best players in the world, which is exciting.”

South, from London, said she was thrilled to be pitting her tennis wits against quality opposition in Eastbourne. “Qualifying for a WTA Tour event as strong as Eastbourne would be a big achievement. I’m looking forward to the challenge,” she said.

LTA Women’s Head Coach Nigel Sears, who has spearheaded the revival in British women’s tennis over the last three years, is delighted at the strong British presence in qualifying. “It’s a pretty tough qualifying draw but then you’d expect that at a tournament of this quality,” said Sears. “Nonetheless there are some great opportunities for the six British girls. They’ve all been playing on grass for the last couple of weeks but they’ll all be looking for more matches ahead of Wimbledon.”

As well as the sizeable British contingent in women’s qualifying in Eastbourne, there is plenty of international interest too and with a main draw containing six of the world’s top ten, the quality of players spreads all the way down through qualifying. Indian superstar Sania Mirza and former top ten players Anna Chakvetadze and Alicia Molik, are among those battling it out over what promises to be a thrilling weekend of tennis at Devonshire Park.

“I’m happy to be back here and happy to be healthy,” said Mirza, who struggled with a wrist injury for the first six months of the year. “I won a match at the AEGON Classic last week and that’s always good for your confidence. I just hope I can win a couple of matches. My wrist is fine. I need match practice more than anything. You want to play as many matches as you can going into a Grand Slam and I always like playing on grass.”

Men’s and women’s qualifying for the AEGON International takes place over three knock-out rounds played over Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Tickets cost from £11 per adult on June 12 and 13, and from £15 for an adult from June 14. Twilight Centre Court tickets (after 5 pm) cost £10 with ground passes costing £5.

For more information visit www.aegoninternational.co.uk.

Tickets are available from www.seetickets.com/aegoninternational or from the Box Office: 0871 230 7131.

Topics: Aegon, Anne Keothavong, British Girls, British Presence, British Women, Broady, Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, Elena Baltacha, Grass Court, Head Coach, Heather Watson, Home Debut, Jocelyn, Katie O Brien, Lta, Sears, Sony Ericsson Wta Tour, Wimbledon, Wits