Live ScoresSchedule of PlayMen's Singles Qualifying DrawMen's Singles Qualifying Doubles Draw
5.19 pm: Doi defeats DentoniMisaki Doi has defeated Corina Dentoni in straight sets, and that is the end of the singles action for the day. Join us tomorrow, again at 11 am (BST) as we move into the final round, with 12 slots open for the women and 16 for the men.
5.01 pm: Krajicek cruisesMichaella Krajicek is through to the final round of qualifying after defeating her Czech opponent Zuzana Ondraskova 6-2, 6-3. This was their second head-to-head meeting, previously having faced each other on a hard court in a WTA Tour event in Bratislava last year. Today Krajicek was equally dominant on grass often controlling the long rallies and patiently waiting for the right opportunity to either approach the net or look to hit a winner to Ondraskova’s backhand. The second set was much closer then Krajicek would have liked. After going a break up, she was put under immense pressure by the Czech looking to get back into the match that was slipping from her grasp. And the moment arrived where she pulled the match back to 3-3 after going 3-1 down, as she started to find her range with the quick and powerful ground strokes she possesses, only to be let down again by poor serving allowing Krajicek to take the next three games and edge closer to the Wimbledon main draw.
4.17 pm: Paszek out, Halep in troubleNara broke Paszek late on took the match 7-5, 6-4. Simona Halep meanwhile went from 1-3 down to 4-3 in the first set, but since then has lost seven games in a row to find herself a set and 4-0 down. All my favourites are falling by the wayside. The final singles match is under way as well, with Doi and Dentoni locked at 4-all in the battle of the Ds.
4.07 pm: Podcast to comeIn Wednesday's Radio Wimbledon podcast available for download later on, Guy McCrea talks to Taylor Dent, Bernie Tomic, Monica Niculescu and Lisa Whybourn.
3.38 pm: Ladies onlyThe men are done and dusted for the day, and we have a few women’s singles matches to finish off. Kurumi Nara needed three bites at the cherry but finally took the first set 7-5, while Simona Halep, No.6 seed and former junior Roland Garros champion, has broken back to make it 4-3 in the opener against Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus. Romina Oprandi has defeated No.3 seed Ksenia Pervak, No.14 seed Stephanie Dubois of Canada is also through in straight sets. Minimum of fuss.
2.58 pm: Around the groundsTamira Paszek is 3-2 up on Kurumi Nara, in a match riddled with breaks of service. In fact make that 3-3 as the Japanese world No. 141 has just broken back. Once they get into rallies there’s some lovely tennis being played, but the wind is playing havoc with both women’s services. Paszek in particular is serving very slowly – a combination of the wind and her previous back injury – and instead of creating cheap points for herself, she’s handing them on a plate to her opponent.The same cannot be said about Michaella Krajicek however. She has a curious pre-service routine where she really crouches over and bounces the ball six times, but after that she has a quick, smooth delivery which helps her get lots of power from her tall, athletic frame behind the ball. She took the opener 6-2 and it’s 3-3 in the second, the wiry Zuzana Ondraskova coming into the match a little more.Another seed doing well is Greta Arn. The Hungarian, who is No.20 in this competition, took the opener 6-1 from Madison Brengle, giving her stocky opponent the run-around and no mistake, wrong-footing her at every opportunity.
2.21 pm: More turnaroundsPrakash Amritraj was looking out-of-sorts in the opener but he won sets two and three 6-3, 6-3 power past Marinko Matosevic. It’s not all bad news for the Aussies though – Carsten Ball straight-setted his way past Alex Kudryavtsev. Ball will face Gilles Muller, who ousted No.4 seed Thiago Alves, cruising past the Brazilian for the loss of only seven games.
2.13 pm: Ditty pulls off a turnaround to best Dokic31-year-old American Julie Ditty came from a set down to eliminate No.1 seed Jelena Dokic 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. Ditty’s down to 566 in the world, and her only appearance in the main draw to date was a quick first-round defeat in 2008. She’ll face fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands tomorrow, for the right to slug it out with the big guns once the main tournament starts next Monday.
1.33 pm: Perry ousts ErakovicAmerican Shenay Perry dispatched of her weary-looking New Zealand opponent Marina Erakovic, 6-4, 6-2. Perry was superior in all departments today and controlled the match with her devastating forehand and powerful service. The first set was close as both players were giving their all to make it to the final round of qualifying. The breakthrough came for the American at 4-4 when she broke Erakovic and went on to serve out the first set 6-4. The three-set match which Erakovic had to play the day before seemed to have had an effect on the Kiwi, especially when up against such a good athlete, and once the first set was in the hands of the American, victory was inevitable. Perry will face Severine Bremond for a place in the main draw.
1.21 pm: No.1 seeds live up to top billingTaylor Dent, the No.1 in qualifying, powered his way through his second round match, displaying all of the qualities required to make the 2010 main draw with a quick-fire 6-2, 6-3 victory over Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain.The Spaniard attempted to move Dent constantly from side to side in an attempt to wear down the big American, but the former top 30 player was up to the challenge and moved incredibly well for such a strong athlete, quickly covering the court and using his raw power off both the forehand and backhand to control the match from start to finish. Bautista did have one opportunity to break Dent in the fifth game of the second set and even pulled off a between-the-legs shot for a winner with the help of a big bounce off the net cord, but Dent’s serve bordered on unplayable as he eased his way into the final round.
Kaia Kanepi of Estonia meanwhile continued to make good progress in her qualifying campaign, only conceding three games on her way to a 6-1, 6-2 victory against the 6ft 2in Russian Elena Bovina.On grass you would have expected that Kanepi would struggle against such a tall and intimidating player, but Bovina's serve was vulnerable and Kanepi was put under very little pressure by the Russian struggling to get any power into her shots. Kanepi is an excellent striker of the ball and enjoys playing on grass, having reached the quarter-finals at Birmingham last week and coming good here at Roehampton. The main draw beckons for the world No.79.
1.18 pm: Whybourn cruises into final roundLisa Whybourn, the British No.11, won her second round qualifying match against Anna Floris of Italy 6-1, 6-4. A combination of accurate, aggressive groundstrokes and lightning quick footwork allowed Whybourn to take control of the match early on and create plenty of winners against her much more experienced 28-year-old opponent.
The second set was a lot tougher as Floris began strong to take a 2-0 lead, but Whybourn came back into the set and had a match point at 5-3 which was saved. The British wild card play-off winner was guilty of tightening up a little towards the end as her left-handed opponent tried to keep the match from slipping away, but Whybourn kept things going and is now one match away from a place in the Wimbledon main draw.
1.14 pm: Around the groundsBeth Mattek-Socks is about to win. It’s warm out there in the sun but plenty windy, and fashion icon Beth has a top, a long-sleeved sweatshirt, skirt and socks to ward off the chill. Her service returns are looking good and bode well for the main draw, should she get there.
Veterans’ battle between Jelena Dokic and Julie Ditty. It was 5-3 to the Aussie, 5-5 then Dokic finally took the opener 7-5. Her service went awry as the wind picked up, and she double-faulted to offer Ditty the break back. At 5-5 she was again 15-40 down, but aced and service winnered her way back into it, then did the ol’ break-take the set routine. Many people complain that many of the women are too noisy when they play, all grunting and screaming. Coaching legend Nick Bollettieri says that they have to breathe properly and let the energy flow, and Dokic has found an interesting way of doing it – she hisses. You can hear her breathing before and after every shot – hiss in, swoosh as she hits, hiss out. It’s like being surrounded by a symphony of kettles.
Prakash Amritraj has lost the first set 6-2 to Aussie Marinko Matosevic. The Indian was serving and volleying but seemingly more out of obligation than conviction, coming to the net somewhat half-heartedly which is an invitation to be passed.
12.42 pm: Three-settersAussie Matthew Ebden took the second, so he and David Guez are into a decider. Bastian Knittel has done likewise and he and Jesse Huta Galung are into a third, and then on Court No.8 there is a real up-and-down battle. Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3d the opener, Nina Bratchikova bagelled the second and now Mrs Mattek-Socks (she’s sporting her trademark knee-highs) leads 3-1 in the third. Ditto on Court No.10 – Nuria Llagostera doubles specialist Vives took the second, but Sesil Karatantcheva won the first and has broken in the third.
12.27 pm: Winners a-go-go, part 2Go Soeda! No, I’m not encouraging him, that’s his name! The Japanese No.15 seed has defeated Alex Sidorenko 6-2, 6-3. Taylor Dent is also through with an identical scoreline, while Adrian Mannarino defeated Riccardo Ghedin 1 and 4.
12.21 pm: Winners a-go-goEleni Daniilidou is currently jogging past me as I type. Why? Because she’s already won, 6-2, 6-2 over Masa Zec Peskiric, who was No.12 seed. Severine Beltrame is through, 6-0, 6-2, Russian No.15 seed Vesna Manasieva defeated Xinyun Han 6-2, 6-3, and Kaia Kanepi has 6-1, 6-2d Elena Bovina.
12.11 pm: Whybourn wins!6-1, 6-4 and the young Brit wild-card is through! She will face the winner of Hlavackova and Naomi Cavaday – a shame that two Brits may have to play each other but hopefully one will get through.
12.08 pm: First winner of the dayAnd that is... Ekaterina Ivanova. The 22-year-old Russian has defeated Shannon Maree Golds (what a name) 6-2, 6-2. Ivanova made it through to the first round of the French last month and is hoping to do the same here.
11.56 am: Names big and smallNo.1 seed Taylor Dent is a set and a break up on Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut. Taylor was world No.57 at the end of 2002 then spent three years on or around the top 30 before having a chronic back injury that saw him stuck in a body cast for six months... He was 879th at the end of 2008 and leapt to 76th by the end of last year, having got through Wimbledon qualifiers – as he is hoping to do now.
Less big names are David Guez and Adrian Mannarino. Two Frenchies bubbling under, but both are a set up and therefore half-way towards qualifying (it’s three rounds, and they’re half-way through their second round matches). There are so many good players in France at the moment – maybe they could lend GB a few...
11.42 am: First bagelIf 6-1 is a breadstick, 6-0 is a bagel, and that is what Severine Beltrame has served up to No.5 seed Shuai Zhang (who defeated Dinara Safina last year when the Russian was world No.1). Severine’s 30 now and has had a real up-and-down career, as Severine Beltrame, Bremond-Beltrame when she married her coach, Bremond, Bremond-Beltrame as they split up and now back to Beltrame. She made the quarter-finals four years ago and I’ve love her to have another good run this year. Other than a fourth round appearance at the US in 2008, she’s never been beyond the second round of a Major apart from the Wimbledon quarter. Always there (every Major since Roland Garros 2004), but never for long.
11.32 am: Brit women show the men how it’s done After the three remaining men were knocked out yesterday evening, the Brit women have been left to fly the flag and wild-card Lisa Whybourn is certainly leading the way, having taken the opening set 6-1 over Italian Anna Floris! Kaia Kanepi also served up a breadstick (a 6-1 scoreline) to Elena Bovina.
11.10 am: Federer and Serena top seedsThe sun came out as soon as the clock struck 11 and the players came out to warm up – perfect!In other news, world No.2 Roger Federer has been named No.1 seed in the main men’s draw, by dint of his grass court pedigree. Serena’s No.1 in the women’s followed by Venus, and French Open winner Francesca Schiavone is up to No.5 with Elena Dementieva having pulled out.
10.25 am: Good morning everyone, and welcome to day 3 of the qualifying event for the 2010 Championships. Conditions are similar to yesterday - cool with a slight breeze - and once again we should be able to enjoy a full day's play here at picturesque Roehampton. We'll be finishing off the men's and women's second rounds today. Two Jesses are in action first up - Witten against Greg Jones of Australia and Huta Galung against Bastian Knittel of Germany. Bethanie Mattek-Sands is also one of the women opening proceedings at 11 am.
While you're waiting for play to begin, why not listen to the podcast that Guy McCrea did last night and listen to interviews with Kaia Kanepi, Marina Erakovic, the abovementioned Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Kevin Kim?