Anett Kontaveit through to Wimbledon second round
Estonian tennis star Anett Kontaveit launches her 2019 Wimbledon campaign on Monday, beating American Shelby Rogers, ranked 298th in the world, in the first round of the ladies' singles in three sets.
The Estonian got off to a storming start on Court 14, winning the first set 6:0. However, the American, a former top 50 player who has recently been dogged by a knee injury which put her out of action for around a year, fought back to take the second set 6:4.
The deciding set was similarly close, with Rogers in the lead in games early on, until Kontaveit tied things up at 2:2, after which she took control, letting the U.S. player pick up only one more game.
Kontaveit, ranked 20th and also 20th seed for the tournament, came to the grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London SW19 on the back of two competitions on the same surface and in the same country, at Birmingham and Eastbourne.
The game is the second of the day to be ERR's online sports portal reports, and is likely to begin around 1 p.m. Estonian time.
The pair had met once before, at the 2014 Auckland WTA tournament in New Zealand, which Kontaveit won in straight sets, 6:1, 6:2.
Kontaveit, 23, from Tallinn, will be looking to improve on her third round best at Wimbledon in the previous two years.
She faces Heather Watson (U.K.) in the second round. While currently ranked 122nd in the world, Watson has managed to win two of her four previous encounters with Kontaveit. The last time the pair met, however, in Brisbane, Australia last year, the Estonian won in straight sets, 6:0, 6:3.
"Wimbledon is such a special tournament. Can't wait to get started," Kontaveit tweeted ahead of Monday's game.
Kontaveit was put out of the Birmingham tournament in mid-June by the similarly-named Johanna Konta (U.K.), and in the second round of the Eastbourne tournament, by Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany.
Kaia Kanepi, who recently rose 17 places to 71st in the women's rankings, opens her Wimbledon account on Tuesday, a competition where she has twice reached the quarter finals.
View this post on InstagramWimbledon is such a special tournament. Can't wait to get started ?ﾟﾌﾱ? #PureStrike #WeLiveForThis
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
