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Serving up a new era

2009 AEGON International | 13-20 June

Devonshire Park played a successful host to the combined tennis tournaments at Eastbourne for the first time in June 2009. 

The ATP event, formerly held in Nottingham, moved to the English south coast resort for a five-year stint as the premier Wimbledon tune-up event.

The 2009 AEGON International brought together the world's leading players on the ATP Tour and WTA Tour. And there was plenty of excitement for fans because this tournament is the final chance for players to warm up before Wimbledon, which began the following week. 

The ATP's 2008 event in Nottingham saw Ivo Karlovic retain his title to register a three set thriller over Spanish livewire Fernando Verdasco. And the Croatian ace saved a match point to register a 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(8) triumph. 

The 2009 AEGON International tennis feast kicked off on the sunny courts of the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club from 13-20 June. 

2009 AEGON International 

Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, England | 13-20 June

2009 NEWS | 2009 FEATURES | 2009 RESULTS | 2009 ROUND-UP

2009 daily news

2009 Final report

Tursunov turns on the style

Boos greet qualifier Dancevic | Final countdown

Withdrawals of top players Gael Monfils and Radek Stepanek, as exclusively revealed by eastbournetennis.net, initially left the men's draw looking flat compared to the strongest ever women's draw. And the fears were realised as boos from the Centre Court's North Stand rang out as qualifier Frank Dancevic was introduced to the crowd.

Little-known Canadian Dancevic was not playing his usual serve and volley game for the first time since the qualifying event, which proved costly in the final against the formidable hitting of powerful no2 seed Dmitry Tursunov (pictured).

On paper it should have been a breeze for the world no27 from Russia to capture his sixth ATP Tour title. But the Canadian serve and volley expert Dancevic showed that he was no pushover, despite having never won an ATP Tour title and being world ranked no127 going into the final.

But after Tursunov raced away with the opening set, the second set became a tighter contest that was decided on the second match point for the Russian to claim his first title of 2009 with a 6-3, 7-6 success and only his second tournament following a two month ankle injury.
 
And Tursunov required treatment for an ankle knock in the closing stages. The California-based Russian formerly from Moscow explained: "It’s good to win, it doesn’t matter which surface it is on. It is human nature to want to beat someone else because it feels good to win whether it’s Eastbourne, Wimbledon, a Futures or a Challenger event or beating your grandmother at chequers," explained
 
He added: “Playing on grass can be tough because we only get three or four weeks on it, so players are a bit like cats in water. It’s given me some practice on grass, which is very important in the lead-in to Wimbledon, and it seems like a good surface to me. Last season I didn't play as many matches ahead of Wimbledon.” 

And Dancevic will be disappointed that this was the second time he had lost an ATP Tour final, and each time Tusunov has been the victor. The Canadian defeated American Andy Roddick in the semi-finals at 2007 Indianapolis and was seeking revenge at Devonshire Park for the reversal to Tursunov. 

Yet Dancevic almost didn't make it through to his Centre Court debut on Monday 15th June, where he completely outwitted top seed Igor Andreev from Russia.

Dancevic said: "I actually twisted my leg in qualies and thought I wouldn't be able to play the next day. But I've had some great treatment from the physios here this week and I've faced some great players. But I have just taken it match-by-match starting with the qualies."

The draw on June 13th was a real anti-climax after the intriguing women's match ups were revealed, and in terms of star quality names the weak men's draw deteriorated fast during the week. Seeds were scattered from the initial Sunday - when the first round kicked off - until Thursday's thrilling matches when all three remaining seeded players survived scares.

But the Lawn Tennis Association offered wildcard entries to a set of British players with Joshua Gooding and James Ward impressing. And Ward surprised even himself with a straightforward first round triumph over Czech Ivo Minar before being bounced out in two sets on Centre Court by Canadian qualifier Frank Dancevic.  

Dancevic saw off Russian no1 seed Igor Andreev in round one and breezed into the semi-final where he beat 37-year-old veteran Fabrice Santoro (no4 seed). The French ace is playing in his farewell ATP Tour and only made the last four at the unfortunate expense of a freak ankle injury to Croatian Ivan Ljubicic in their second set.

Dmitry Tursunov (pictured), the no2 seed, had little difficulty in making the semis despite being given a Centre Court scare by Brit Alex Bogdanovic. The Russian destroyed in-form Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the no8 seed, who on Friday needed three sets to end the run of crowd favourite Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia on Centre Court.

Although the men's main draw has generally only been on a parallel to the women's qualifying draw, the positive news for the tournament organisers has been the domination of home-grown talent that attracted the interest from Britain's Davis Cup skipper John Lloyd for two days. But the negative news has been the crowds constantly flocking away from the Centre Court to watch some of the big names in the women'sgame who are past their sell-by date.

Although the overall lack of interest in the ATP Tour's event at Devonshire Park was not just from spectators but also competitors, which was highlighted by the lack of entrants for the men's qualifying draw so extended an invitation to a promising local 16-year-old to take part. Accordingly, the ATP Tour considered the first two rounds of qualifying to be of such a low standard - more like a lower tier Challenger event - that for those who failed to progress past the first two rounds of qualifying received no world ranking points and no prize money!

2009 Final build-up

Double trouble hits draw

Men's main draw on Sunday alongside qualifying

Gael Monfils and Radek Stepanek withdrew from Eastbourne's inaugural AEGON International with injuries, which prompted the tournament organisers to bring the first round forward by 24 hours to Sunday.

Although eastbournetennis.net exclusively revealed that the provisional top two seeds have been on the injured list, tournament director Gavin Fletcher disappointed hundreds of ticket holders by failing to bring in any big names as wildcards.

Monfils (pictured) missed the event with a left wrist and left kneecap injury while Stepanek's ankle keeps even brings his partipation at Wimbledon into doubt.

Although French ace Monfils already had a severe left kneecap problem he played in the French Open and, more surprisingly, at Queen's Club. But the 22-year-old withdrew from the 2009 AEGON Championships in London with yet another injury, this time to his wrist, following his second round struggle over Russian Andrey Golubev.

And Czech star Stepanek's ankle injury is likely to keep him out of the pre-Wimbledon event in his race be fit for the more lucrative Championships at SW19.

Organisers have long known that their top two provisional seeds have been doubtful and were aiming to lure Britain's Andy Murray as a wildcard, but Murray has breezed through the draw at the grass court tournament at Queen's Club in London.

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) surprisingly told eastbournetennis.net on the Friday before the tournament began: "Stepanek and Monfils are still entered into the tournament." 

Yet eastbournetennis.net exclusively learned that neither player was fully fit to compete at Devonshire Park.

Stepanek's doctor, Dr Rene Kloc, confirmed about the ankle injury to the 30-year-old: “The ligaments are not torn but are badly swollen, his involvement in Wimbledon is uncertain.”

And Monfils said: “I think I twisted my wrist, my wrist is not very good.”

Indeed Monfils' wrist injury has resulted in him recently withdrawing from other ATP Tour events including the 2009 Australian Open.

Monfils' latest injury setback gives him the chance to rest as he requires surgery to his ongoing left kneecap injury, but the French star has decided to wait until the grass court season finishes before considering going under the knife.

Monfils continued his annual heroics at the French Open, beaten in the last eight by eventual champion Roger Federer in 2009 having reached the semi-finals in 2008, despite the French Tennis Federation (FTF) revealing that his left kneecap requires urgent surgery.

Having only played one ATP Tour match on clay in the previous six weeks going into Roland Garros, easily brushed aside at the Monte Carlo Masters, Monfils needed to do well at Paris in order to pick up precious world ranking points after briefly slipping out of the world's top 10 for lack of matches.

Stepanek retired injured at the Prosrejov Challenger event in early June, immediately after reaching the third round at Roland Garros, and skipped Eastbourne 2009. Stepanek has suffered many injuries in the past, which has jeopardised his progress as a regular top 10 player.   

That takes the tally of three major players missing from the men's draw  - following the suspension of crowd-favourite Richard Gasquet - and means that no one from the world's top 20 features for the first ever AEGON International. 

Murray will be missing

Andy proves too handy by being king at Queen's 

Andy Murray will miss Eastbourne 2009. The further bad news for the AEGON International organisers was delivered after the Scot's shock excellent run at Queen's Club.

But the 22-year-old progress (pictured) was partly due to the grass tournament lacking the usual array of stars that have sparkled at the prestigious event over the years and the fact that Murray was not given any real competition en route to winning the AEGON Championships in London.

As the Scottish ace has a tendency to run out of steam at larger tournaments, particularly during the best of five set matches, he was advised to avoid Eastbourne so that he will not be worn out before his best ever shot at claiming a Wimbledon singles title.

The LTA told eastbournetennis.net: "With regard to Andy Murray, he has not entered the tournament yet. If he should request a wildcard, while there are still wildcards available, then he will be given one."

And Murray was a typical dour Scot after his exit at Roland Garros and indicted that he may well enter Eastbourne, which certainly helped boost ticket sales.

He said about his involvement at Queen's Club: "You want to play matches to get used to the courts and the movement on grass, but it's not the end of the world if you lose early. There are a lot of exhibition events the following week and the Eastbourne tournament's not a long way away. If you feel like you want competitive matches you can go there, though ideally I'd have a decent run at Queen's."

Gasquet hit by suspension

Richard Gasquet has been hit by a provisional suspension from the ATP Tour as from May 12th. The French ace will miss Eastbourne's first ever AEGON International because he tested positive for cocaine at a tournament in March.

Gasquet (pictured) explained in a statement dated 10th May: "The test of the B sample submitted at the end of March 2009 confirmed the positive result of the A sample taken on the same day. I want to prove my innocence and will explain myself at an appropriate time."

Gasquet's suspension means that a hearing takes place around 60 days later, meaning that he will be able to explain the results to an anti-doping tribunal around mid-July. He will be unable to compete at the French Open, Eastbourne or Wimbledon during that period. This will be a personal and financial blow for the Frenchman, who was a hot favourite to capture the 2009 Eastbourne title.

“Tennis on grass has always been special to me," said Gasquet, who has twice won at Nottingham and reached the final four at 2007 Wimbledon.

Monfils heads strong set

Gael Monfils (pictured) looks most likely to be named as the top seed for the inaugural AEGON International at Devonshire Park, left kneecap injury permitting.

But he faces some stiff competition to take over as no1, as the seedings are expected to follow the current world rankings at the time of the main draw on June 13th.

Compatriot Richard Gasquet, who has twice won the pre-Wimbledon event at Nottingham has been forced to miss the event at Eastbourne as well as the grand slams at Roland Garros and SW19.

The other players who would be seeded are Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek (no2), Russian Dmitry Tursunov (no3), Austrian Jurgen Meizer (no4), Russian Igor Andreev (no5), Italian Andreas Seppi (no6) and the France pair of Paul-Henri Mathieu (no7) and Fabrice Santoro (no8). 

Although there are a number of dangerous opponents for the seeds to avoid early on who are rapidly climbing the world rankings, these include youngsters Fabio Fognini and Teimuraz Gabashvili as well as veterans Tommy Haas and Ivan Ljubicic. But Ljubicic, who reached the dizzy heights of world no3 earlier in his career, could easily deny Santoro - another veteran - of being seeded.

However, the exact seeds are not determined until the draw takes place on Saturday 13th June and are anticipated to follow the world rankings at that time.

But with Monfils doubtful of competing and his French compatriot Gasquet definitely a no-show, the organisers may need to tempt some stars out the world's top 10 to compete in the highly anticipated inaugural AEGON International as the men's draw is not anywhere as near impressive as the entrants in the ladies tournament.

2009 Entrants | 2009 Players to watch

Road to 2009 final

2009 AEGON International | 13-20 June

Read our report on how Frank Dancevic of Canada (qualifier) and Dmitry Tursunov of Russia (no2 seed) reached the 2009 men's singles final.

2009 Saturday round-up
2009 Friday round-up
2009 Thursday round-up
2009 Wednesday round-up
2009 Tuesday round-up
2009 Monday round-up

2009 tennis videos 

Click here for video playlist 1

Click here for video playlist 2

Click here for video playlist 3

2009 entrants 

2009 AEGON International | 13-20 June

CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT ATP TOUR WORLD RANKINGS

Entrants for the 2009 AEGON International at Eastbourne's Devonshire Park:

1 Monfils, Gael FRA, world no10 at time of entry
2 Stepanek, Radek CZE 17
3 Tursunov, Dmitry RUS 22  
4 Melzer, Jurgen AUT 27
5 Andreev, Igor RUS 32
6 Seppi, Andreas ITA 36
7 Mathieu, Paul-Henri FRA 39
8 Santoro, Fabrice FRA 44
9 Benneteau, Julien FRA 46
10 Bolelli, Simone ITA 50
11 Ljubicic, Ivan CRO 53
12 Querrey, Sam USA 61
13 Ginepri, Robby USA 62
14 Tipsarevic, Janko SRB 63
15 Youzhny, Mikhail RUS 64
16 Gabashvili, Teimuraz RUS 65
17 Lu, Yen-Hsun TPE 67
18 Schwank, Eduardo ARG 71
19 Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo ESP 72
20 Gonzalez, Maximo ARG 74
21 Fognini, Fabio ITA 75
22 Haas, Tommy GER 76

2009 players to watch

2009 Draw

Singles

Qualifying

Doubles