The main draw got off to a great start today with a big crowd for day one, and even the sun came out! This is our 42nd year of hosting this tournament and we are proud of its history.
We’ve had a jam packed day full of fantastic matches which included former US Open Champion Sloane Stephens facing a tough match against Yue Yuan. Stephens used her power and control and had a convincing win. Ostapenko, and our top seed, surprisingly lost in her first game to Cocciaretto. Ostapenko hadn’t found her form on the grass and had a disappointing performance. Leylah Fernandez beat Sara Sorribes Tormo in an action packed last match of the day.
It’s the beginning of the grass court season and we can see some inconsistent results as everyone is coming off the clay courts. Shame we lost a few seeds on day one, but great to have Fernandez and Stephens starting strong.
Looking Ahead…
What a line up for day two. Former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki is up against Elise Mertens. Both players have achieved a lot on the tour and are very experienced players. Caroline has returned to the tour since having two children and is inspired to compete at the top of the game again.
Heather Watson is back on our courts for the second match. We all know how much Heather loves the home crowd, so lets make some noise for her! She battles against Marie Bouzkova.
Karoline Pliskova is back in the draw. Former World No. 1 returns back to Birmingham after reaching the final last week in Nottingham. Pliskova has great experience on the grass courts having made the final here before and also reaching the final of Wimbledon. She starts her event against Caroline Dolehide.
The last match on Centre Court tomorrow is British No. 1 Katie Boulter. She has had an exceptional year and has reached a career high ranking inside the top 30. She is coming into the event having just defended her Nottingham title.
Also competing tomorrow on court one is former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova. Harriet Dart is also in action on court one tomorrow.
It’s another great day of tennis, we have former Worlds No. 1’s, former grand slam champions and lots of Brits to get behind!
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