DPA/Stuttgart


Eight seed Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain made life difficult for herself before beating Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 in the first round of the Porsche Grand Prix yesterday.
Suarez Navarro failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set and squandered a 5-4 lead on her serve in the ensuing tiebreak before eventually prevailing in 2 hours 12 minutes.
The 92nd-ranked Rodina levelled the sets with a strong backhand winner down the line, came back from a break down twice in the third set before dropping serve in the final game which Suarez Navarro won at love from a double fault and three winners.
Suarez Navarro next meets local 2011 champion Julia Goerges or Swiss Belinda Bencic. Spain’s other player, Garbine Muguruza, also won, 6-1, 6-4 against Check Barbora Strycova. Muguruza dropped two games from 5-2 in the second before clinching victory for a date with Romanian second seed Simona Halep whom she has beaten in both previous meetings.
”Barbora played well. I felt a bit nervous closing it out but in the end I could handle it. At the changeover I told myself ‘just continue. Don’t worry, you are winning,’” Muguruza said.  In other games set for later last nigh,t the 2014 runner-up Ana Ivanovic of Serbia was to play France’s Caroline Garcia.

Murray pleased with choice of Queen’s as Davis Cup venue

World number three Andy Murray has welcomed the choice of the Queen’s Club grass courts to host Britain’s Davis Cup quarter-final against France from July 17-19.
Britain, who were beaten in the last eight by Italy last year, will take on Australia or Kazakhstan in the semi-finals if they beat the 2014 runners-up.  “Queen’s will be a perfect venue,” Murray said.  “I’ve been playing at Queen’s for 10 years now, so I feel very at home there as do the rest of the British team. Fingers crossed it’s a memorable summer for British tennis.” Murray has a special fondness for the London venue, having won the Wimbledon warm-up tournament there three times in his career.

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