Aussies in action: Wimbledon Day 4
Arina Rodionova prepares for the biggest match of her career in the Wimbledon women's singles while Ash Barty, Casey Dellacqua and John Peers kick off their doubles campaigns.
London, UK, 6 July 2017 | AAP/tennis.com.au
Australia’s last Wimbledon singles hope will take to the court for Wimbledon’s second round on Thursday in the biggest match of her life against Kazakh wildcard Zarina Diyas.
Rodionova’s focus is on reversing three previous straight-set losses this year to Diyas, including the past two on grass.
Her opponent is only ranked 36 places above the Melburnian, but is on the comeback from injury after reaching a career-high No.31 in 2015.
“I’ll have to speak to my coach and have a plan for it, but hopefully it will turn at some point,” Rodionova said.
Having successfully qualified for her Wimbledon main-draw debut, Rodionova is riding a four-match winning streak.
“I had a good feeling about my grass season and I always love playing at Wimbledon so I was hoping I would do well and I’m feeling great,” said the 27-year-old.
“My body’s in the right condition and I’ve done a lot of work and I’m glad it’s paying off.
“Fitness is important because I had quite a few bad injuries and I’m just happy about being able to play healthy and play quite a few tournaments in a row without being disrupted by injuries is very big for me. It’s important.”
> TV Guide: full telecast details
> Order of play: full Wimbledon Day 4 schedule
WOMEN’S SINGLES – SECOND ROUND
Zarina Diyas (KAZ) v Arina Rodionova (AUS) – Court 14, second match
MEN’S DOUBLES – FIRST ROUND
[1] Henri Kontinen (FIN)/John Peers (AUS) v Fabio Fognini (ITA)/Andreas Seppi (ITA) – Court 6, second match
Guillermo Duran (ARG)/Andres Molteni (ARG) v Sam Groth (AUS)/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) – Court 7, first match
Bob Bryan (USA) [5]/Mike Bryan (USA) [5] v Marc Polmans (AUS)/Andrew Whittington (AUS) – Court 8, second match
WOMEN’S DOUBLES – FIRST ROUND
Catherine Bellis (USA)/Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) v Jess Moore (AUS)/Akiko Omae (JPN) – Court 7, fourth match
[8] Ash Barty (AUS)/Casey Dellacqua (AUS) v Jelena Jankovic (SRB)/Coco Vandeweghe (USA) – Court 8, third match