AEGON International Guest Blog - Tuesday 19 June

Words and Photos By Jack Gracie.

Tuesday, the day of injuries, sunshine, famous boyfriends and upsets.

Sitting courtside on Tuesday was one of the most enjoyable sporting experiences ever. I challenge anyone else there to admit that they did not at least once recline back in their seat, in the silence and glorious sunshine of centre court and think to themselves four simple words. This is the life.

The day promised so much with the top three seeds in the woman’s competition, top male seed Richard Gasquet and former US open champ, Andy Roddick all in action.

The play turned out to be just as dramatic with all three top seeded woman and the previously mentioned Gasquet all becoming victims of giant killings. The only thing to live up to its name and reputation on Tuesday was the sunshine coast itself! And this reporter has the sunburn to prove it!

Ekaterina Makarova gives Eastbourne a big thumbs up. Photos by Jack Gracie.

First onto centre court was current Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and Ekaterina Makarova. Some imperious ground strokes from Kvitova gave her an early advantage but Makarova’s never say die attitude saw her come back to win the first set 7-5 and instantly saw the centre court crowd warm to her. She continued in the second, eventually clinching the match, winning the second set 6-4.

Caroline Wozniacki, seeded third in the tournament, brought a certain degree of ‘eye candy’ to centre court in the match that followed, sporting a yellow skirt which shined as brightly as the Eastbourne sun. Unfortunately for her (and for many fellow male spectators who have tickets for later in the tournament!) she would not be gracing centre court again, eventually losing 6-1, 6-7 (7/9), 6-4 to American Christina McHale.

Any attempts of an offer for a shoulder to cry on were squandered though by the fact that her professional golfer boyfriend, Rory McIlroy, was watching on from the stands. Like Wozniacki, McIlroy has not experienced much success himself of late but who wouldn’t find her a distraction?!

Rory McIlroy looks on from the stands. Photos by Jack Gracie. 

Before their game had even begun, top seed, Agnieszka Radwanska, had already crashed out over on court one. The Brits were fairing much better with both Laura Robson and Heather Watson progressing to the 2nd round.

Next the men took to centre court for the eagerly anticipated all American affair between Sam Querrey and Andy Roddick. The latter being very well received especially by the female proportion of the stands. (Their equivalent of Wozniacki maybe?). The pace was bumped up a notch with serves of over 135MPH fizzing over the net along with hitting as hard as resisting the tempting smells of the barbeque wafting across centre court all afternoon.



Marinko Matosevic celebrates his dramatic win over top seed Richard Gasquet. Photos by Jack Gracie. 

However the match was cut short with Querrey being forced to retire with a bad back with the score at 5-2 to Roddick. Serving at 135 MPH, not bad for someone with a bad back!
After a slight delay, number one seed Richard Gasquet took to the court against Australian qualifier Marinko Matosevic. Gasquet breezed through the first set winning 6-1 with Matosevic ironically celebrating just winning his first game of the match at 5-0 down. Little did he know that an hour later he would be celebrating an epic win. The following sets both went to tie breaks which were won by the Australian ranked 82 in the world, giving him what he described as the “biggest win of his career” and earning him a standing ovation from the Eastbourne crowd.

Matosevic’s win brought down the curtain, (or should that be net?) on what had been a terrific day of tennis. One that this reporter feels very fortunate to have been a part of.

Follow the link to view all the photos Jack took at the AEGON International on Tuesday.

https://www.eastbourne-outlook.net/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150972666752445.446056.825197444%26type=1%26bef=10150972724657445%26l=d93770746c

What makes the AEGON International so special for Jack Gracie this year?

Jack Gracie will be reporting back on play on Tuesday 19 June. Jack is a budding photographer so watch out for him and his camera on the day - we're looking forward to seeing some fab photos alongside his blog entry!

For me, this years AEGON International is special because it has the potential to be the first form of elite competition that I could cover as a journalist.

It is and has been for some time now, my dream to become a sport journalist. Travelling the world, watching the sport I love and getting to report what I love to thousands ofothers.

The AEGON International has the potential to be my first ever opportunity to experience what it is like to cover professional sport, something which the high calibre of player competing at Devonshire Park this year, guarantees.

Before now I have not had the chance to experience this and I would relish the chance to emulate the work I have read and watched from other journalists that have inspired me. The tournament could be a great chance for me to gain some valuable experience and really test what I have learnt so far.

At University I have recently been involved in a group research project in which are question was "What effect does hosting the AEGON International have on the town of Eastbourne". Because of this I am fully aware of benefits the competition brings with it and this is of course another reason that makes it special. Not only to me but the whole of the Eastbourne community.

But ultimately... the chance to watch the world's best doesn't come around very often and it is this in particular that makes this years tournament special to me.