Sunday was a nice, quiet chilled out day before the madness starts on Monday with the first day of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships. This post features stories from the weekend heading into the third Slam of the year. My aim is to continue with my daily Set Points recaps and a daily preview post when i’m off work. Let’s see how that goes! Read on for 11 stories in Sunday’s pre-Wimbledon Set Points post.

Wozniacki wins Eastbourne

Caroline Wozniacki won her second Eastbourne title, nine years after winning her first title on the South Coast. Wozniacki beat Aryna Sabalenka, 7-5 7-6(5) in Saturday’s final. Sabalenka served for both sets and had set points in the first set. I thought the Belarusian played a great match and just showed some inexperience at this level as she was unable to take advantage of opportunities at the ends of both sets.

This was a great week for Wozniacki who navigated her way through a very tricky draw indeed including Giorgi, Konta, Barty, Kerber and Sabalenka. Check out Wozniacki’s match point save below from her semi-final win over Kerber which was sensational.

Eastbourne wrap-up

It was another memorable week of tennis in Eastbourne and I enjoyed my time down on the South Coast. The weather was such a pleasant surprise this year. It’s technically a holiday for me but it never quite feels like it! I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to attend as media again and I met so many nice people. The highlights for me were obviously the interview with Johanna Konta and getting to sit and ask questions in Daria Kasatkina’s press conference. If you missed any of my eight posts during the tournament, you can catch up with them all HERE.

Tennis with an Accent Podcast

I was honoured to be invited onto the Tennis with an Accent podcast to discuss the Wimbledon women’s draw with Saqib Ali. It’s been a really exciting tennis week for me! I’ve pushed myself out of my comfort zone this week which is not something I tend to do. I’m definitely not a natural! I struggle to articulate myself sometimes when speaking which, I guess, is why I like writing as I can take my time and keep editing.

This is the first year that I decided not to bother with writing a Wimbledon preview. If you are interested in hearing my overall thoughts about the draw then i’d point you to the podcast. It’s an hour long and is pretty comprehensive with some tidbits from my time in Eastbourne.

A big thanks to Saqib for having me on the podcast!

Tennis with an Accent

A heads up for anyone who hasn’t come across the Tennis with an Accent site before. I only started following just before the French Open where the team did a fantastic job covering the entire tournament, both for WTA and ATP. If you enjoy their coverage, they have a fundraising page which I have just donated to.

Tennis Inside Out Podcast

I really enjoyed and would recommend listening to the latest edition of the Tennis Inside Out Podcast. This includes an insightful discussion on the issues of streaming with a focus on issues in the US. I’ve been content this year with WTA TV. There are still some issues (no app, no listing of players against court names etc) but generally have been happy just to have solid and reliable coverage of WTA tennis, unlike last year. However, I still remain disillusioned with the whole landscape of streaming and the need to buy so many different subscriptions to watch tennis. I’m going to have purchase another one in Amazon Prime to watch the US Open which i’m thrilled about! 😂

Wimbledon Media

After the debacle of the French Open app and lack of access to press conferences, Wimbledon is a dream! The app is easy to use and i’ve enjoyed watching back all of Saturday’s media press conferences in their entirety. I’ve linked Simona’s press conference below. I’m still buzzing for Simona and totally believe her when she says the pressure is off. I definitely get a more relaxed vibe from her. I’m intrigued to see how she gets on at Wimbledon. On one hand, I think she will be calmer but on the other hand, I wonder whether she is ready to move on from her French Open triumph and is mentally ready for another Slam. She spoke about planning a big holiday after Wimbledon!

Petra Kvitova

Bonnie Ford produced a stunning article on Petra – well worth a read!

Timea Bacsinszky

I was gutted to learn on Saturday that Timea Bacsinszky has pulled out of Wimbledon. Timea’s had such rough luck with injuries over the past year, stretching back to last year’s Wimbledon. I really hope we will see her on the court again soon. Stay positive, Timea!

Wimbledon Previews on MTB

Previews for day 1 and day 2 are up on the blog with my three matches to watch for each day. I’ll try and keep my match thoughts pages updated each day although I may lose touch later in the week when I have to go back to my day job! The first set should be up by tonight.

Wimbledon OOP for Day 1

My bro and I always write down our predictions for the order of play each day. We were surprisingly similar for the show courts for day 1! I was surprised to see Wozniacki get Centre over Serena Williams. I was hoping Sabalenka-Buzarnescu may get a show court or a TBA.

Anyway, it’s going be fun and manic in equal measures. Enjoyyyyy everyone! 🙂

Away from the tennis…

It’s been a nice birthday weekend as I met up with friends on Friday night and family on Saturday night for dinner. I’m all about my desserts!

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