Victoria Azarenka says she will take a short break from tennis following her French Open exit to ensure she is mentally ready for Wimbledon.
The world number one, 22, suffered a surprise 6-2 7-6 (7-4) defeat by Dominika Cibulkova on Sunday.
"There has been a lot of tennis for me in the last five months," she said.
Dominika Cibulkova Top seed slayer“In the tie-break I'm very, very proud of myself that I was still going for my shots ”
"I need just to get rested mentally, definitely. Once I have my passion and desire back on the court, I'll be on the grass."
Top seed Azarenka almost lost to Alberta Brianti in round one and was far from at her best against Cibulkova - an opponent she had beaten seven times in eight previous meetings.
Her frustrations with her own performance were evident midway through the second set when she twice smashed her racquet against the clay court after Cibulkova had overturned a 2-0 deficit to lead 4-2.
"I don't know how to describe my performance really. It wasn't satisfying at all," added Azarenka.
"But I guess it happens. I don't know even what to find positive in my performance."
While Azarenka lamented her lack of mental strength, Cibulkova was "proud" of the way she kept her cool, especially when the second set went to a tie-break as Azarenka attempted to regain control.
"It was a great thing that I managed to go through these emotions," said the 23-year-old. "She was 6-5 up, and I said, 'Hey, come on, you have to play your game again and just make it'.
"And for the tie-break I'm very, very proud of myself that I was still going for my shots, and I just made it because she would never give me the match."
Cibulkova's best previous performance in a Grand Slam came at Roland Garros in 2009, when she reached the semi-finals.
"She's definitely a good player," added Azarenka. "I think she plays much better against the top players than maybe a little bit lower-ranked players. She really has that desire. I don't know what motivates her to play that way.
"She's a dangerous opponent. She had big wins before, and it was no surprise that she was going to be playing well."
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Road to Wimbledon starts at Chichester for tennis kids - Chichester Observer
Chichester Racquets & Fitness Club hosted their HSBC Road to Wimbledon national challenge stage-one event.
It was run over two very wet and windy weekends. Qualifying, first and second rounds were played on the first Sunday with the semis, play-offs and the two main finals the following week.
The HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14-and-under national challenge is the UK’s largest national junior grass-court tournament.
It is about clubs, tennis centres and BSTA schools supporting their juniors and organising a tournament, giving opportunities for keen juniors to progress to the county finals and move towards national finals at Wimbledon. The event encourages boys and girls of all standards to play and enjoy competitive tennis.
The winners of the first stage will go through to the county finals and the 44 county winners, and 20 best runners-up, will qualify for the national finals in August.
This year the national finals, a grade-three event, will be held on the grass courts of the Bank of England sports ground at Roehampton, adjacent to the National Tennis Centre.
The girls’ singles ended in a final in which Emily Dodd beat Ella Herman 4-1, 4-2, with Hannah Emerson coming in third.
The boys’ singles ended with brothers Matt and Luke Spencer in the final. Younger brother Matt ran out 4-0, 4-1 winner, with Will Colley picking up third.
The consolation event for the boys’ singles was won by Sam Ellison, who beat Alexander Margarson 4-0, 4-5, (10-5) in the final.
Tournament organiser Peter Cook said: “It was very encouraging to see so many 14-and-under players from the Chichester Racquets & Fitness Club competing.”
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