Monday at the 2015 AEGON International in Eastbourne had plenty of typical British weather in store and persistent rain caused the third day of the tournament to start with a five-hour delay.
Tennis fans in Devonshire Park needed lots of patience and waterproof clothing today, since rain in the morning ruined any chance of play getting underway as planned. The conditions got even worse around noon as torrential rainfalls kept players away from the courts for hours.
While the rain was pouring down outside, some of the tournament’s top seeds gathered in the media center for the All-Access hour and Caroline Wozniacki, Lucie Safarova & Petra Kvitova talked to the press about their upcoming tournament.
Unfortunately, Petra Kvitova brought some bad news with her. The reigning Wimbledon champion had to withdraw from the tournament due to illness, forcing the Czech to start her Wimbledon title defense without a single match on grass beforehand. Monday also had a fun activity for some of the players in store, as Wozniacki & Safarova were invited to prepare a dessert dish, giving the Danish former world #1 and the Roland Garros finalist the chance to show off their food preparation skills.
In the afternoon, the rain finally made way to plenty of sunshine, allowing at least a part of the original order of play to be completed, including the comeback of Dominika Cibulkova. The Slovakian played her first match ever since undergoing surgery earlier this year, winning her comeback match against Britain’s Harriet Dart in straight sets.
There was better news in store for the local fans on center court though, as Heather Watson moved on into the tournament’s second round, getting past American Varvara Lepchenko in straight sets.
Tuesday at the 2015 AEGON International will have a packed schedule as plenty of matches from Monday had to be carried over into the tournament’s fourth day, including the much anticipated duel of the WTA rising stars between Belinda Bencic & Madison Keys.
