Tammy suffers early exit at Wimbledon
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Tamarine Tanasugarn's Wimbledon singles campaign came to a swift end yesterday with a first-round defeat to Georgia's Anna Tatishvili, 6-4 6-2.
The Thai veteran, a grasscourt specialist, showed little resistance against the 22-year-old, losing the encounter in just over an hour. It was another lacklustre display from the former quarter-finalist at the All England Club.
The 35-year-old reached the final eight in 2008 – her best result to date in a grand slam. Tammy has not won a WTA match since being hit by health problems in February. She still has the doubles event, however, where she will team up with Marina Erakovic of New Zealand.
US Open champion Samantha Stosur of Australia was the first woman to make the Wimbledon second round yesterday, cruising past Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro.
Fifth seed Stosur eased to a 6-1 6-3 win over the 40th-ranked Spaniard and goes on to face either Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands or Japanese lucky loser Misaki Doi.
Stosur, who was a semi-finalist at the French Open earlier this month, has never got beyond the third round at the All England Club.
Yesterday’s win also ended the 28-year-old’s run of first-round losses at Wimbledon in 2010 and 2011.
Li takes express route
China’s Li Na took the express route into the second round at Wimbledon with an emphatic 6-3 6-1 victory over Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan.
After a frustrating clay-court campaign, which included a disappointing fourth round defeat at the French Open, Li looked right at home on the lush lawns of the All England Club.
She was far too strong for Pervak and brushed aside the 21-year-old in little more than an hour to set up a second round meeting with either Romania’s Sorana Cirstea or France’s Pauline Parmentier.
Just 12 months ago, Li arrived at Wimbledon on the crest of a wave after winning the French Open to become the first Asian to hold a Grand Slam singles title.
But that triumph at Roland Garros has proved something of a burden for Li, who has struggled to cope with the significantly increased expectations and demands on her time that come with such a landmark victory.
Her form has suffered as a result and the world number 11 hasn’t got past the fourth round of a grand slam since winning in Paris.
But Li admitted last week that the one upside to her slump has been a return to relative anonymity.
With that in mind, the 30-year-old must have been delighted to be scheduled to face Pervak far from the spotlight out on Court 12.
There was certainly a spring in Li’s step as she made a fast start, breaking for a 2-0 lead.
Russian-born Pervak, who changed her nationality to Kazakhstan at the end of 2011, reached the last 16 on her Wimbledon debut last year.
But Li’s combination of experience and power proved far too much for the world No 41.
After a brief stumble when she dropped serve in the third game, Li made the decisive break for a 5-3 advantage before serving out the set.
The Chinese star quickly took control of the second set with a break to move 2-1 ahead and romped to victory with two more breaks.
