The weather is becoming a major factor at the 2017 Aegon International in Eastbourne as rain once again caused a big delay at the tournament on Wednesday.
Following a completely rained-out Tuesday, the event had a massive order of play on Wednesday, with many top names scheduled to have two singles matches in one day, including the world’s highest ranked players Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep.
Halep and Kerber finished their first singles matches early into the day, having both mastered through three-set tests. The world No.1 Kerber barely escaped a defeat to Kristyna Pliskova, recovering from a lost first set in a very narrow fashion. Similarly, Halep survived a close encounter with China’s Ying-Ying Duan, continuing her push to become the new world No.1 as the WTA ranking can undergo a shift at the top in Eastbourne this week.
Later on, both players were scheduled to play their second match of the day, but while Halep’s match against Tsvetana Pironkova got underway before being halted by the afternoon rain, Kerber didn’t even get to step on the court for a second time due to the weather woes.
The shortened day means both players will potentially have to play two matches on Thursday, since the tournament will be pushing to somehow complete all matches with Wimbledon looming in just a few days’ time.
Drawing by far the shortest straw of them all was Agnieszka Radwanska. With her round two match still stuck in the first set, the Polish Wimbledon finalist is looking at potentially playing three singles matches on Thursday, an almost impossible feat.
MORE PHOTOS FROM THE 2017 AEGON INTERNATIONAL:
Great photos! Keep it up!
Fabulous pictures (despite the awful weather in Eastbourne)
Monica Niculescu in particular is well prepared for the chilly conditions.