Defending champion Marion Bartoli was beaten 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 by unseeded Austrian Tamira Paszek in the semi-finals of the Eastbourne International on Friday. Bartoli, the fourth seed, paid tribute to her unheralded opponent who will play German fifth seed Angelique Kerber in Saturday's final at the Wimbledon warm-up event.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the Wimbledon Championships, at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Friday.
Justine Henin began the defence of her Eastbourne International title in fine style on Wednesday, beating Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-1 and looking every inch a grasscourt player.
Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon final after defeating Croatian Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) on Thursday in the longest women's semi-final at the All England Club.
Novak Djokovic looked to have regained his confidence and form just in time for a concerted Wimbledon assault as he carved out an emphatic win over Gael Monfils in the Aegon International grasscourt final at Eastbourne on Saturday.
The defending champion will play eighth seed Marion Bartoli of France.
Sixth seed Marion Bartoli overcame blustery winds, a groin injury and a determined fightback from Czech Petra Kvitova to win the Eastbourne grasscourt Wimbledon warmup tournament 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 on Saturday.
Sania Mirza is one win away from making the main draw of the women's singles of WTA AEGON International tournament as she reached the final round of the qualifiers with a hard-fought win over Georgia's Anna Tatishvili, in Eastbourne.
The Indian went down to Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn in the first round qualifying match.
Images from Day 4 of the Wimbledon Championships, at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Thursday.
Teenager Caroline Wozniacki warmed up for Wimbledon with victory in the Eastbourne International grasscourt tournament on Saturday.
Lorenzo Musetti faces seven-times Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
World number two and top seed Caroline Wozniacki, runner-up at the south coast event last year, cruised into the semi-finals with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Australia's Ashleigh Barty.
Former champion Caroline Wozniacki reached the semi-finals of the Eastbourne grasscourt tournament with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat of Germany's Andrea Petkovic on Thursday.
Serena Williams is set to return to tennis at the Wimbledon warm-up event in Eastbourne starting on Saturday, after a year sidelined by illness and injury.
New world number one Ashleigh Barty has suffered a pre-Wimbledon injury scare, withdrawn from this week's Eastbourne grasscourt tournament with a recurrence of a right arm injury.
'I'm happy to be part of this Italian movement. People, they start to play tennis now more and more, which is great to see. I think that's the most important.'
Feliciano Lopez proved that there is more than one left-handed Spaniard capable of doing damage at Wimbledon when he beat Richard Gasquet to win the Aegon International grasscourt title at Eastbourne on Saturday.
Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova warmed up for Wimbledon with her first grasscourt title, beating in-form Czech Karolina Pliskova 7-5 6-3 at the Aegon International in Eastbourne on Saturday. But the former Australian Open finalist, seeded 12th, had to work hard for the victory early on. She had her serve broken in the first game of the match, setting the pattern for an entertaining tussle as the players traded breaks with abandon.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the Wimbledon Championships, at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Tuesday.
She will first team up with Tunisian world number four Ons Jabeur for the doubles event at Eastbourne which gets underway this weekend.
Third-seeded Jessica Pegula and fifth-seeded Coco Gauff each recorded straight-set wins to advance to the second round of the Rothesay International on Tuesday in Eastbourne, England.
The five top contenders for the women's title at Wimbledon, which starts on Monday.
Kvitova and Vekic had played twice on Saturday after a rain delay on Friday but it was the Czech who did not drop a set in the entire tournament.
Serena beat Sara Sorribes Tormo and Marie Bouzkova 2-6, 6-3, (13-11) in the women's doubles.
Should Carlos Alcaraz win Queen's final against Alex de Minaur he would reclaim the world number one ranking from Novak Djokovic.
Big-serving Elena Rybakina will aim to retain her title but other players have emerged as serious contenders:
While several top seeds will have their say, a look at some emerging players who could be serious contenders.
Williams and Jabeur won their first two matches in the tournament and were scheduled to play in the semi-finals
Serena has slid down to 1,204 in the rankings and needed a wildcard from Wimbledon organisers
Kazahk Bublik powers past Zverev in straight sets to reach Halle final
Karolina Pliskova warmed up for Wimbledon in the best possible fashion on Saturday by powering past Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-4 to win the Eastbourne title.
Wimbledon will allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete at the grasscourt Grand Slam as 'neutrals' this year.
The Serbian Wimbledon champion extended his win streak to nine, wrapping up the final in 75 minutes without facing a break point and booked his place at next month's ATP Finals.
'The ability for players of any nationality to enter tournaments based on merit, and without discrimination, is fundamental to our Tour.'
IMAGES from Day 2 of the Wimbledon Championships from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Tuesday.
Last year, the teenager was ranked 338 in the world when she received a wildcard and she reached the last-16 against all odds
Movie stars holiday in exotic locations and share lovely pictures on social media.
Sania has been granted a visa but her son and his caretaker have not received UK visas owing to the current travel restrictions on Indians due to a surge in coronavirus cases in India.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances