|
Larsson produces superb performance to claim Barnstaple singles title JOHANNA Larsson says she is delighted to have broken her losing sequence in finals and clinch the AEGON Pro-Series Barnstaple singles title. The World No.242 went into Sunday's showpiece event at the Tarka Tennis Centre having lost her six previous finals. But Larsson smashed that record with a stunning performance to beat third seed and pre-match favourite Pauline Parmentier 6-2, 6-2. Larsson said: "I think I played really good yesterday (in the semi-finals) and I just tried to keep it up today. I felt good in my body and when it's the last day you just want to give it your all. I tried to do that and I'm really happy." "It's amazing to break my losing run in finals. It's my first win at this level as well so I'm really happy about it." Larsson proved to be a favourite with the fans during her week in North Devon and she had plenty of support at the final. The Swede took little time to claim the first set 6-2 after breaking her French opponent three times. Larsson got lucky in the first game of the second set when her return of serve on break point clipped the top of the net and dropped on an exasperated Parmentier's side of the court. And from there on the unseeded player never looked back. Larsson said: "The support was brilliant. I liked the kids with the Swedish flags, it made me really happy when I saw them and then they were just waving them about during the match." "I didn't go for every shot today because I was not as tired as I felt yesterday, so I just tried to stay in the rallies." "I'm really happy. I will definitely come back next year to defend my title if I have the ranking to qualify." Burgers on the menu for new doubles champions! ANNA Smith and Johanna Larsson say they will celebrate their doubles victory in style - by treating themselves to some fast food! The duo clinched the AEGON Pro-Series Barnstaple doubles title with a closely-fought and highly entertaining And in order to celebrate the perfect end to the week the pair plan to head straight to the nearest McDonald's. Larsson, who earlier in the day won the singles event, said: "Anna's coach said if we won the doubles he would buy us McDonald's, so we are going to celebrate with some junk food. "I won the singles and now we have won the doubles we can have whatever we want!" An enthusiastic crowd had an excellent final to entertain them, as Laine and Anderson attempted to claim But the No.4 seeds eventually came up short against the British/Swedish combination, who pulled off some superb volleys on their way to the win. Smith said: "In the first set we were a bit passive. They dictated the points and we weren't as aggressive as we could have been. We could have maybe done more with the returns but some how we came through." "It's always fun playing a final in front of a home crowd. They really got behind both of us so we had a lot of fun out there." Day 7 Finals Day: Starting times... 12:30hrs: Tarka Tennis Centre/Ball Kids Presentation 13:00hrs: Singles Final between Pauline Parmentier (FRA) and Johanna Larsson (SWE). Followed by the presentation of the Dartington (Singles) Vase to the new Champion. After a brief rest period (approx half an hour) the Doubles Final will take place between current Champions Kelly Anderson (RSA), Emma Laine (FIN) and Johanna Larsson (SWE), Anna Smith (GBR). Followed by the presentation of the Dartington (Doubles) Vase. eTickets are still available via the link on this page Day 6 Semi-Finals: Emma Laine and Kelly Anderson to defend title... DEFENDING champions Emma Laine and Kelly Anderson are through to the doubles final again, after beating Anna Gerasimou and Katalin Marosi 2-6, 6-4, 10-5 in the semi-finals. The Dartington Doubles Vase holders appeared to be heading out of the Barnstaple event when they dropped the first set to Gerasimou and Katalin, who beat British pair Laura Robson and Heather Watson in the quarter-finals. But Laine and Anderson fought back to take the second set 6-4, and their victory rarely looked in doubt as they dominated the deciding championship tie-break. The duo will take on Britain's Anna Smith and Sweden's Johanna Larsson in tomorrow's final. Day 6 - Semi-Finals: Larsson bids to make it seventh-time lucky JOHANNA Larsson says she hopes to finally end her dismal run of form in finals at the Tarka Tennis Centre tomorrow. The popular Swede says she has lost the last six finals she has qualified for. But tomorrow Larsson will have two chances to end that losing streak, as she is in both the singles and the doubles finals of the AEGON Pro-Series Barnstaple event. Larsson qualified for the doubles final with Briton Anna Smith on Friday night when the pair beat Yulia Fedossova and Pauline Parmentier 6-2, 6-4. And the world No.242 also has a shot of winning the singles competition after she beat compatriot Sofia Arvidsson 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 in the semi-final on Saturday. Larsson said: "I have now six straight finals I have lost so now I have two more chances. I would be really happy if I could win one, but to win two would be amazing." A punishing schedule in recent weeks meant Larsson felt tired at the start of her singles semi-final against Arvidsson. But after dropping the first set, the blonde let rip with a string of stunning shots to win 12 consecutive games and cruise into Sunday's final for the Dartington Vase. Larsson said: "Sofia was playing good. In the second game I felt so tired it was a joke. I was like 'oh my god I'm so tired and there's a whole match left already'. I have been playing a lot of matches. Playing both singles and doubles takes a lot of energy, but she was playing well against me as well." "After the first set I felt it was a long way back. But then I just played really good and sometimes during the match I just felt I couldn't miss. That is quite a good feeling to have. I was really tired and I was sometimes going for some crazy shots and today was my day." Day 6 - Semi-Finals: Welcome present helps Parmentier into the final PAULINE Parmentier thanked top seed Ksenia Pervak for 'gifting' her a way back into the second set of their AEGON Pro-Series semi-final. After comfortably winning the first set 6-2, Frenchwoman Parmentier fell a break down early in the second set as her Russian opponent sought to get a foothold in the match. But three consecutive double faults from Pervak in the following service game helped Parmentier to immediately get back on level terms. From there on the No.3 seed went from strength-to-strength and sealed her place in tomorrow's final by winning the second set 6-3. Parmentier said: "She played better in the second set and broke me in the third game, but then she made three double faults, so I said 'thank you'! It was a good present for me and after that I played better." "It was a very good match for me. I made a very good start because she was a bit nervous at the beginning so I took my chance. Then I served good and played well today." "The beginning of the second set was really tough. There were some close points but I stayed focused." "I don't care who I play next. I'm in the final and I'm happy. We will see tomorrow but I think it will be a good match. I feel in good form." Day 6 - Semi-Finals: Smith and Larsson into Sunday's doubles final... ANNA Smith and her partner Johanna Larsson are through to the final of the doubles, after beating Yulia Fedossova and Pauline Parmentier 6-2, 6-4. The semi-final result late on Friday night means Smith is the last Brit standing in the AEGON Pro-Series Barnstaple draw. She and Swede Larsson, seeded three, will face the winner of this afternoon's semi-final between holders Kelly Anderson and Emma Laine, and Anna Gerasimou and Katalin Marosi in Sunday's final, when the Dartington Doubles Vase will be up for grabs. Day 5: Round-up There was some superb tennis on display at the Tarka Tennis Centre as we reached the business end of the AEGON Pro-Series event. Johanna Larsson and Kristina Mladenovic served up some brilliant tennis in their quarter-final which went to the wire, with Larsson eventually coming out on top 6-4 in the third set. Larsson will meet Sofia Arvidsson in tomorrow's semi-final after her fellow Swede knocked out Brit Lisa Whybourn in straight sets, while in the top half of the draw Ksenia Pervak will take on Pauline Parmentier for a place in the singles final on Sunday. In the doubles British pair Laura Robson and Heather Watson bid farewell to North Devon when they crashed out 6-3, 5-7, 10-2 to experienced pair Anna Gerasimou and Katalin Marosi. They will face holders Emma Laine and Kelly Anderson in tomorrow's semi-final, after the reigning champions narrowly beat Timea Babos and Mladenovic 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 in a highly entertaining affair. Day 5: Perfect Parmentier aims to extend fine record... PAULINE Parmentier says her neat run to the semi-finals of the AEGON Pro-Series Barnstaple has helped to rebuild her confidence. The French world No.146 says she has endured a disappointing year on the WTA Tour so far, but has been in blistering form this week in North Devon. Parmentier is still yet to drop a set and beat Lithuanian Lina Stanciute 6-2, 7-5 to set up a semi-final against top seed Ksenia Pervak tomorrow. Parmentier said: "I feel good. It's good for me to win three matches in a row because it's been a long time since I have done that." "It was a good match (against Stanciute). I have played against her a lot of times so I knew what to expect and I was confident going into it. Now I will be playing against better players so it will be tougher, but I will try to win in straight sets again until the end of the tournament." Day 5: Whybourn left to rue missed opportunities LISA Whybourn's brave run in Barnstaple came to an end in the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-3 defeat to Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson. Brit Whybourn had battled through the first two rounds of the event in North Devon, winning both matches in three sets. But there was to be no repeat of her previous heroics in her last-eight encounter with fourth seed Arvidsson, who dominated proceedings from the start to take the first set 6-2. Whybourn showed signs of getting back into the match in the second set and had break points to take what would have been a deserved 4-2 lead. But she was unable to take her chances and Arvidsson will now face compatriot Johanna Larsson in tomorrow's semi-final. Day 5: New partnership has a promising future... LAURA Robson and Heather Watson have vowed to team up again after they went out in the quarter-finals of the doubles 6-3, 5-7, 10-2 to Anna Gerasimou and Katalin Marosi. The young British pair appeared to have the momentum going into the championship tie-break third set, after levelling the scores by snatching the second set. In the end Robson and Watson ran out of steam against their more experienced opponents, but the duo revealed that the result would not put them off linking up again in the future. Robson said: "I'm used to my partners getting really angry with me but Heather doesn't do that. I think we will definitely play together again." Watson said: "This is the first time we played together and I think we did pretty well considering that. It was fun, I enjoyed it." "It's disappointing to go out but I think we played really well today. They were tricky opponents and their experience showed in the tactics they used against us." "The defeat has ended the British duo's involvement at Barnstaple for another year, but both said they had enjoyed their stay in North Devon." Watson said: "It's been a great experience and I have enjoyed playing here because it's a nice centre." Day 5: Results so far... Johanna Larsson (SWE) beat Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 6-4 6-7(4) 6-4 Day 5: Larsson rides the storm into the last four... JOHANNA Larsson is through to the semi-finals after beating Kristina Mladenovic in a stormy encounter. Both players received code violation warnings as tempers became frayed in what was a tense but highly-entertaining affair. But in the end it was a delighted Larsson who scraped into tomorrow's semi-final. "We both struggled a bit (to keep our tempers in check), but we know it's difficult for the line judges and when you're really concentrating it's hard to see their point of view. We said some stupid things but you just have to stay as calm as possible and play on." "It feels great. It's my first semi-final at this level so I'm happy about that. I think it was a really good match, it was really tough out there." Day 5: Pervak first through to Semis RUSSIAN Ksenia Pervak will embark on a scouting mission this afternoon in order to pick up some ideas ahead of tomorrow's semi-final. The top seed became the first player through to the semi finals at Barnstaple when she defeated Emma Laine And Pervak will be a keen spectator of the quarter-final match-up between Pauline Parmentier and Lina Stanciute this afternoon, as she will face the winner in the last four. Pervak said: "I have just played against Stanciute and she leads 1-0 but that was on clay. I haven't played against the French girl. This is the first time I have seen her so I will go and watch their game. "I was pleased with my performance today. The first set was really tough. In the second set I played quicker in the first, that was the key, and I moved her and she couldn't get to the ball." Day 5: Quarter Finals results so far... Ksenia Pervak (RUS) [1] beat Emma Laine (FIN) 7-5 6-2 Day 4: Robson and Watson through to the doubles quarter-finals LAURA Robson and Heather Watson have extended their stays in North Devon by shocking No.2 seeds Sarah Borwell and Mel South in the ladies' doubles. The younger duo, who are both already out of the singles event, got off to a great start in the evening match at Tarka Tennis Centre by taking the first set 6-2. South and Borwell regrouped and took an early break in the second to establish a 3-1 lead. But Watson and Robson immediately broke back and continued to hold serve to take the set into a tie-break. The sheer power of Borwell and South meant the more experienced pair took a 4-2 lead into the change over. But Watson and Robson conjured up some superb volleys to fight back and win the breaker 8-6 in order to move into the quarter-finals. Day 4: Round-up TOP seed Ksenia Pervak is through to the quarter-finals after a 6-4, 6-2 win over Britain's Naomi Cavaday. The Russian was made to work hard for her place in the last eight and at times struggled to cope with Cavaday's power, but in the end it was Pervak's consistent game which won the day. Other seeds to go through today included Swede Sofia Arvidsson, who beat Anna Gerasimou 7-5, 6-0 and Pauline Parmentier who dismissed Stephanie Gehrlein 6-1, 6-2. Lisa Whybourn is the last Brit standing as she beat sixth seed Lenka Wienerova in a third set tie-break, while compatriots Cavaday, Jade Curtis and Heather Watson all crashed out. Andrea Hlavackova was another seed to fall in the last 16, as she was beaten by Sweden's Johanna Larsson 6-4, 6-4. Day 4: Results so far... Lisa Whybourn (GBR) beat Lenka Weinerova (SVK) [6] 6-2 2-6 7-6(5) Day 4: Whybourn records win over Wienerova LISA Whybourn was delighted to beat Lenka Wienerova and make it through to the quarter-finals. The wild card entry became the last Brit left in the singles draw as she won 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 in a topsy-turvy encounter against her Slovakian opponent. Whybourn said: "That is by far the biggest win of my career. I thought I played really well in the first set and in the second set I was thinking I could win this quick, and I over hit a little bit and took my eye off the ball. But in the third set I was winning my service games comfortably and rushing a bit on hers. I tried to hold on and in the end I played a good tie-break. "I knew she was trying to break my rhythm by taking a lot of time between points so I tried to laugh it off a bit. It was nice to have a lot of support. I have never really had it before. A lot of the tournaments I have played have been abroad so I have never really had the crowd with me so it was nice to have that today." Day 4: Mladenovic outmuscles Watson... GIRLS' US Open champion Heather Watson has crashed out of the AEGON Pro-Series Barnstaple event following a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 defeat to France's Kristina Mladenovic. The young Brit made a blistering start to the match as she outplayed the reigning junior French Open champion to take the first set in commanding fashion. But Mladenovic's powerful serve and forehand helped her edge a tight second set, and after that Watson struggled to regain her rhythm. Mladenovic broke Watson's serve in the second and sixth games of the deciding set to take a 5-1 lead. Watson immediately broke back to give her fans faint hope. But any chance of an unlikely comeback was swiftly snuffed out by the French girl, who sealed her victory with an impressive combination of power and accuracy. Watson said: "She came up with some big points today and I just wasn't able to keep that extra ball in play. I don't think I was as consistent as yesterday. In the first set I wasn't missing much, but then I let her in and you can't do that. It was a lack of concentration and I got a bit lethargic." "She played a solid game which made it harder for me to break. I wasn't able to convert the break points I did get. I didn't take my chances today and she took hers." "I'm still feeling good and have got energy left for the doubles so hopefully me and Laura (Robson) can come up with a win. I hope there will be a big crowd for it. I like playing in front of a lot of people so it should be fun." Day 4: Lina bidding to prove a popular player LINA Stanciute is hoping she can capture the public's imagination for the second year in a row at the AEGON Pro-Series event in Barnstaple. The Lithuanian was a popular figure at the Tarka Tennis Centre last year when she battled through the qualifying rounds and went all the way to the semi-finals, before she was forced to retire through injury. And Stanciute, who is into the quarter-finals after beating Jade Curtis 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday, says she hopes the North Devon public will get behind her again this time around. She said: "I hope to get the same support this year. It's always nice to play here and it's fun. I have had some support so far. My friends have come to watch me but I haven't played on the main court yet." "I played here and I played a good few other tournaments and I think my serve is stronger and my shot selection is stronger. I'm really aggressive now so that's why my ranking has gone up. Hopefully I can have another good run." Day 3: Round-up There was a brilliant atmosphere inside the Tarka Tennis Centre as the main draw got into full swing on Wednesday. Hundreds of schoolchildren, all armed with inflatable Bam Bams, helped keep the noise and entertainment levels high as the likes of Laura Robson and Heather Watson took to the courts. In the singles Robson crashed out to fellow Brit Naomi Cavaday 6-4, 7-6 in a closely-fought encounter, while Watson beat second seed Mel South 7-6, 6-2 to book her place in the second round tomorrow. Seeds Ksenia Pervak and Pauline Parmentier are both through to the second round after straight set victories, while fourth seed Sofia Arvidsson and fifth seed Andrea Hlavackova have also made it into the second half of the week following wins over Anna Smith and Anna Livadaru respectively. Day 3: Mel's hopes go South as Watson claims scalp... HEATHER Watson hailed her 7-6, 6-2 victory over second seed Melanie South as the biggest of her career to date. Watson took a tight first set on the tie-break before running away with the second set, although South appeared to be struggling with a back injury by that point. Watson said: "I am really happy with that. I played well. Mel hits it really hard so it was hard to be on the offensive, my game was more about defence. After winning the (Girls') US Open it's nice to make the transition over to the women's and get some wins here as well." "I haven't played someone with that much pace in the juniors. She had a very hard first serve which I was struggling to return and it is just a different game, but it's nice to get some wins in the women's as well. I'm really pleased. She is a great player ranked 143 in the world and I'm really pleased with my achievement today." Watson will now face junior world No.1 Kristina Mladenovic in the second round. The Brit will be familiar with her opponent, having faced her a number of times on the junior circuit, but Watson made no predictions about how the match will pan out tomorrow. She said: "It will be tough in the next round against the junior Roland Garros winner. We have played each other twice and it's one all at the moment. She's another hard hitter with a big serve. It's good I know how she plays so I can get my tactics together, but you never know how they are going to play on the day." Day 3: Cavaday proves too strong for Robson... FANS' favourite Laura Robson admitted she could not cope with Naomi Cavaday's power after crashing out in the first round of the AEGON Pro-Series Barnstaple. Robson put up a great fight against her higher-ranked and more experienced opponent before succumbing 6-4, 7-6 and says she learned a lot from the encounter. Robson said: "She hits it really hard and it's quite an awkward shot to return because I'm not used to playing left handers. It spins away and I get jammed up sometimes, so it's difficult to play her. "I thought my performance was good. It could have been better on how many mistakes I made and how many first serves I made, but I thought it was a solid match and I thought she played really well." Cavaday said she was relieved to see off the challenge of Robson, but admitted she would have to play better if she is to enjoy a successful week in North Devon. The world No.230 will play top seed Ksenia Pervak in the second round tomorrow. Cavaday said: "I was nervous before the match but that wasn't because she was young or British, it was because she is a tough player. She is up and coming, very young and very good for her age so it's a little strange to be playing in my home country and having the crowd cheering for my opponent, but you get used to it and I think I won them over in the end. That was my aim. "I'm really looking forward to my next match. I have some things I want to work on. It was a good performance today but I know I will have to play better than that tomorrow." Day 3: Pervak relishing taking on Brits TOP seed Ksenia Pervak says she will not fear playing in front of a pro-British crowd in the second round tomorrow. The Russian will now meet Naomi Cavaday, after seeing off Yulia Fedossova 6-0, 7-5 in the first round today. Pervak said: "I don't care (that the majority of the crowd will be in favour of the British player). "It will be interesting to play against a British player because they are at home and the crowd will be cheering for them." Pervak also claimed being the No.1 seed did not put her under any extra pressure. She said: "It doesn't help me and it doesn't put me under more pressure. There are a lot of good players here and their rankings are good, so I will have to play well in every match." Day 3: Results so far... Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) [4] beat Anna Smith (GBR) 6-2 6-3 Day 2 Round-up: Livadaru shows steel and stamina to beat Hofmann ANNA Livadaru came out on top in the day's best match to qualify for the main draw in style. Livadaru saw off fellow German Lena-Marie Hofmann 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 in an epic encounter on court four. Elsewhere there was an early shock as the main draw got underway, with seventh seed Julia Vakulenko crashing out to Austria's Nikola Hofmanova 7-6, 6-3. World junior No.2 Kristina Mladenova also went through to the second round when her opponent Mervana Jugic-Salkic retired injured at 6-0, 1-0 down. The second day at Barnstaple saw a notably bigger crowd come in to watch some of the top talent on show. And the number of spectators is sure to rise again tomorrow, when the tournament will host a Children's Day. Hundreds of local schoolchildren have been invited to come and watch the action, with both Heather Watson and Laura Robson due to play their first round singles matches. Day 2: Results update... Main Draw Curtis wins battle of wits against Moore CORNISH star Jade Curtis scraped through to the second round of the singles with a battling performance against Tara Moore. Curtis got off to a poor start and dropped the first set 6-2 amidst a flurry of stunning forehand winners from her opponent. But the Westcountry girl hit back to take the second set 6-2, before clinching a tight decider in the tie-break. Curtis said: "I know she can play some unbelievable tennis and I just had to try and stay in there, make her work and stay tough mentally. I spoke to my coach after the game and he said I hardly made any errors, losing the first set was purely down to her winner count. I just changed a few things, hit it more to her backhand and gave her fewer opportunities on her forehand." Day 2: Robson and Watson arrive at Tarka... STAR attractions Laura Robson and Heather Watson have both arrived in Barnstaple ahead of their first round matches on Wednesday. The pair have been training at the Tarka Tennis Centre today (Tuesday) in preparation for taking on Naomi Cavaday and Melanie South respectively. The duo are also teaming up for a doubles match on Thursday, when they will face second seeds South and Sarah Borwell. Day 2: Smith stings Rae to qualify for main draw... TOP qualifying seed Anna Smith admitted she was relieved to get the better of Jocelyn Rae and go through to the main draw after a tight match. The World No.412 ground out the first set 6-4 before going slightly off course and dropping the second 3-6. But Smith regained her composure in the decider, taking it 6-1 and sending the British under-18 champion crashing out. Smith said: "I went to pieces a little bit in the second set. She started playing better and I didn't play so good, but in the third set I really tried to focus and it paid off."It's tough against her as she hits the ball pretty well and it's hard to dictate."I played well here last year so it's always nice to come back and win a couple of matches. It's all you can do to do as well as last year, if not better." Day 2: Qualifying Round, Results so far... Anna Smith (GBR) beat Jocelyn Rae (GBR) 6-4 3-6 6-1 Day 1: Round-up: The qualifying tournament has got off to an impressive start with some closely-fought matches. Shock of the tournament so far was Elizabeth Thomas taking little time to beat qualifying seventh seed Natasha Khan 6-1, 6-3, but the best match was fifth seed Svenja Weidemann's narrow victory over Kelly Anderson 6-1, 6-7, 6-4. Elsewhere Ruth Seaborne battled to her first senior victory with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win against fellow Brit Francesca Stephenson, and Elisha Gabb came out on top in a scrappy encounter with Amanda Elliott 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. British under-18 champion Jocelyn Rae is another who went through to the second round, beating Samantha Vickers 6-3, 6-4. Off court the main draw has been unveiled and has thrown up a few mouth-watering ties. Reigning US Open junior champion Heather Watson has been handed a tough task as she will face second seed and world No.143 Melanie South in the first round, while former junior Wimbledon winner Laura Robson will pit her wits against another bright British prospect in Naomi Cavaday. Robson and Watson do not have it easy in the doubles either, as they will play second seeds Sarah Borwell and Mel South. Day 1: Qualifying Round Results... Anna Smith (GBR) [1] beat Michelle Farley 6-2 6-1 BRITISH youngster Ruth Seaborne said she was delighted to claim her first ITF points at the AEGON Pro-Series Barnstaple event. Seaborne overcame fellow Brit Francesca Stephenson 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in a titanic battle to earn the right to face third qualifying seed and defending doubles Champion, Emma Laine. Seaborne said: "I managed to get the win and for them to be my first points as well is pretty exciting. This is the first match I have won on a Women's tournament so it's a great feeling. I have got the third seed next. Obviously she is a strong player as she is seeded and has more experience than me so it's just a challenge to see if I can raise my bar and see what I can do." Robson and Watson to Partner in Doubles Competition... TOP British juniors Laura Robson and Heather Watson have announced they will partner each other in the doubles at the AEGON Pro-Series Barnstaple this week. Sarah Borwell (GB Doubles No 1/WR77) is set to make a welcome return to the AEGON Pro-Series Barnstaple... Sarah Borwell, last years Barnstaple Open Doubles Semi-Finalist, is set to return to Barnstaple again next week. Sarah and 2008 Doubles partner Courtney Nagle (USA) lost out in a thrilling three set match to eventual Champions Kelly Anderson (RSA) and Emma Laine (FIN), who are also both returning again this year. Sarah hopes though that this will be her year to lift the Dartington Doubles Vase. Local girl Jade Curtis to be joined by Britain's rising stars... Jade Curtis said: 'It's really nice to play a Tournament back in England, especially one so close to home, and I'm looking forward to playing the Tournament as I unfortunately missed it due to illness last year' Heather Watson said: 'I'm just so pleased with what I've achieved and I definitely want to keep it going. I want to work on getting my WTA ranking higher and climb this new, bigger ladder I'm on. I want to get as high as I can, as fast as I can. I'm working very, very hard with my fitness especially so I'm physically strong enough to beat anyone. Barnstaple should be very exciting! I really want to do well and I have a lot of confidence at the moment so hopefully I can use that.' The final countdown has begun! |