karren patterson is in qualifying

Q3

Karen Peterson Bt Ana Veselinovic 6-4 7-6(1)
Jane O'Donoghue lost to mary gambale 6-4 6-3

R1

Naomi Cavaday v tina schiecht (wr 265)
Karen Peterson v julie coin (wr 283)

Good draw for both of them but are likely to face the two top seeds in the next round if they progress.

Karen is 2nd on Court B6 which starts at 10AM in Jackson.

Naomi 3rd on court A4. Same start time

Naomi won 6-4, 6-0

Karen lost 7-5, 6-0

Naomi told me "I knew that Schiechtl was going to be a tough match, as she is very consistent and the clay suits her game. There has been a lot of rain over the past few days which has subsequently made the courts heavier and slower which also works to her advantage. I started off well but she was very consistent and anticipated well. I felt like I had to hit 4 or 5 winners to win one point."

"Once I settled down and realised that she couldn't hurt me I tightened up my game and took the first set 64. I used the wind to my advantage and played a smart clay court game to beat her 64 60. The second set was still competitive but I had the momentum and the control of the match."

"I now play the number 1 seed tomorrow and I am looking forward to it as it will be a completely different type of match. Today Schiechtl didn't give me any pace but ran well and used all of the court effectively. I am taking confidence from this match into tomorrow and I have nothing to lose and I am looking forward to it."

Naomi says that the courts are becoming slower and slower each day, she prefers it faster but she's still comfortably with things at the current pace.

Jeremy Bates is with her in Mississipi, he's been with her since the Luxilon Cup and Felgate has returned to England to sort things out with the LTA and Xavier Malisse.

Karen's match was tough, her opponent is a very good player, top 300 and she beat a player ranked 159 2 and 0 in Alabama last week so is playing v well. Karen did really well to qualify, conditions don't suit her game

Yeah Naomi now plays the top seed who's a Czech and is ranked 143...Naomi can definately beat her ! The Czech lost in rd1 in Alabama last week to Jamie Hampton, a US junior, in a 3rd set tiebreak

I agree tennisbrain, she's just outclassed so many players ranked 120-300 recently, it's really impressive.... her trajectory is Andy Murray like, just 18 months ago she was unranked and was just starting out in 10K qualies, haven't really seen anything like it before in British tennis in the womens game

Naomi is hoping for wcs into the WTAs in Birmingham and Eastbourne this year, they'd be crazy not to give her them