The journey from the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club – where the Aegon International takes place this week – to the All England Club is 114 kilometres through the twisting, lush green English countryside. And for the women of the WTA, they hope the commute takes six days to complete.
It’s the last stop on tour before Wimbledon takes hold, and for top stars including Caroline Wozniacki, Genie Bouchard, Agnieszka Radwanska, Lucie Safarova and Madison Keys, it’s a place to hone their grass-court games before pulling in at The Championships.
“It's just kind of a nice calm before the storm next week,” said a smiling Wozniacki, champion here in 2009.
Tennis has added a week to its grass-court schedule this season, meaning Eastbourne is slotted in third of three in the build-up to London. For Safarova, a first-time Grand Slam finalist at the French Open earlier this month, it’s a first foray onto the surface in 2015, as well, and a chance to emulate her SW19 success from 12 months ago, when she was a semi-finalist.
“I'm excited to be on grass,” the Czech lefty told reporters Monday. “I have nice memories from last year. So I'm just enjoying. Obviously I want to do good (here), but, (I’m just) trying to keep the ball rolling (from Paris).”
That ball has stopped cold for Petra Kvitova, the defending Wimbledon champion who was slated to be the top seed in Eastbourne. The world No.2 withdrew on Monday, citing illness and a desire to be 100 percent for when she steps onto Centre Court next Tuesday at 1pm.
I don't want to set some expectation, but I'm really enjoying playing on grass
It’s a weighty pendulum that could swing momentum one way or another for Bouchard, a finalist at Wimbledon a year ago who has lost 10 of 11 matches since March.
Radwanska, the 2012 runner up at SW19, needs a boost as well, having dropped out of the top 10 and unable to climb past the semi-final of any tournament so far this year.
But it could continue to be a boon of success for some of the hottest players on tour, particularly as Wimbledon mainstays Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams (and now Kvitova) are without a single grass match under their collective belt ahead of The Championships.
Namely Angelique Kerber, the German collecting her first grass title of her career in Birmingham on Sunday and a hope to follow her form here from 2014, when she was runner-up. She was a semifinalist on Centre Court back in 2012.
It was Keys that beat Kerber here last year in a thrilling final, the American winning her first title of any kind. The hard-hitting 20-year-old is now coached by Lindsay Davenport and wants to launch herself into Wimbledon as an outside contender for the title, much like Karolina Pliskova, the Czech who finished second to Kerber in Birmingham.
“I'm really hoping that I will be healthy and really enjoying and play my best tennis,” said a relaxed Ekaterina Makarova, who since last Wimbledon has reached semi-finals at both the US and Australian Opens.
She continued: “I don't want to set some expectation, but I'm really enjoying playing on grass. Really waiting for the Wimbledon. I like that tournament.”
It’s an answer common around these parts: Play well, stay relaxed and enjoy the rare chance to play on the grass-courts that have become so hallowed in this sport.
The names are plenty to disrupt the seeds here, as they will be at Wimbledon, too. Carla Suarez Navarro, Andrea Petkovic, Sara Errani, Sam Stosur, Belinda Bencic, Flavia Pennetta and Elina Svitolina are dangerous lurkers. So are British stand-outs Heather Watson and Johanna Konta, already winners this week in Eastbourne.
Who takes the last train to London? Whoever it is will no doubt be in the conversation to hoist the Venus Rosewater Dish come mid-July, 114 kilometres and 12 matches away.
