Melanie SOUTH (GBR) (LL) vs Anne KEOTHAVONG (GBR) Naomi CAVADAY (GBR) (Q) vs Andreja KLEPAC (SLO) (ranked 131)
Typical that Mel has to face Anne...should be an interesting encounter, as Mel has scored some wins over Anne in the past and (the final round of qualies aside) seems to be in good shape...though Anne is obviously coming off a final run last week so...at least one Brit will be in the 2nd round (only positive I can think of).
Pandzic trashed the 4th seed 1 & 4 today so maybe Mel's loss was a case of her running into a player on a hot streak.
It was 1 and 2 actually so it makes Mels loss look a little bit better:
Gagliardi def. O'Brien 61 62
Keothavong def. South 62 36 62
Some guy on WTAWorld called the tournament up and got the scores. Katie is a mess. Especially since Anne beat Gagliardi just this year. Glad to see that Mel took a set off Anne. Oh, and the top seed and defending champ (can't spell her name) got knocked out and she was due to face Anne in the 2nd round so the draw has opened up. Cmon Anne, get that top 100 spot!
-- Edited by Tutu at 18:15, 2008-04-08
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Anne Keothavong - Heather Watson - Naomi Cavaday - Laura Robson - Elena Baltacha - Everyone else!
Excellent win by Naomi, who now has a chance to avenge her defeat by Kloesel in US Open final qualifying. Osterloh's loss to Wickmayer is not particularly surprising, as the latter is a rising star and will be a tough opponent for Anne.
It's very tough for Katie having to cope with the pressure of being British number 1 and playing so many matches against players who are above the level which she is comfortable with - she has never beaten anyone ranked above 120ish outside the UK. It looks like the result is loss of confidence, like many other players who have catapulted up the rankings in similar fashion. It may well be a relief for her to lose the grass points and rebuild with less focus on her.
Real shame about Katie's result but if she can't handle the pressure in order to move up to the next level then how is she ever going to get into the top 100. I'm sure she's working very hard but at the moment doesn't look like she'd survive very long in the top 100.
Great to see Anne win and hopfully get to reach a new career high. Keep it going.