The road to wimbledon

The countdown to The Championships progressed as most warm-up tournaments are over and the qualifying rounds almost concluded. The seedings have been announced. On grass, the service is a formidable weapon; with many matches ending in tie breaks.

In the 250-point Turkish Airlines Open finals in Antalya Turkey, Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina defeated Adrian Mannarino of France 6/1; 1/6; 6/1. At the Libema Open in s-Hertogenbosch Netherlands, Richard Gasquet of France defeated compatriot Jeremy Chardy 6/2; 7/6 to take the title.

In the men’s 500-point spectacle in London, Australia’s Nick Kyrgios had a great run. He defeated recuperating Andy Murray 2/6; 7/6 (4); 7/5; followed by British number one Kyle Edmund, 7/6 (3); 6/7 (5); 6/3 and defending champion Feliciano Lopez in the quarter-finals, 7/6 (5); 7/6 (3) before losing to Marin Cilic in two tie-breaks, 7/6 (3); 7/6 (4). Cilic defeated Novak Djokovic 5/7; 7/6 (4); 6/3 to win the title, upping his 2017 runner-up position.

The defending champion in Birmingham, Petra Kvitova defeated Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova 4/6; 6/1; 6/2 for her fifth title this season.The Czech southpaw expressed surprise at her victory because she participated to get used to the grass courts.Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark defeated Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, 7/5; 7/6 (5) for the title.

In the Men’s event, Germany’s Mischa Zverev won the first set against Slovakia’s Lucas Lacko, 6/4, while the second set commenced at Press time. Eastbourne is the last event before The Championships, Wimbledon.