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6/14/09 5:33 AM | Ricky Dimon
Players will get a last chance to fine-tune their grass-court games before Wimbledon at upcoming events in Eastbourne and 's-Hertogenbosch. The Eastbourne tournament also provides an especially nice opportunity for an ATP title.
With almost all of the top-ranked players resting up in the final week before Wimbledon, the AEGON International in Eastbourne, Great Britain should be a free-for-all for the title. Seeded and unseeded players alike will have every opportunity to lift the winner's trophy next weekend.
Headlining the modest field are Russians Igor Andreev and Dmitry Tursunov, the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively. Andreev, however, is no kind of grass-court player and Tursunov has been dealing with injuries.
Among the seeded ranks, Frenchmen Paul-Henri Mathieu and Fabrice Santoro are next. Mathieu has been unspectacular this year while Santoro, in his last season on the ATP Tour, could be in the midst of his last real chance to go deep in a tournament. But "the Magician" faces a tough opener in big-serving American Robert Kendrick.
Other seeded players who could do damage in Eastbourne are Mikhail Youzhny and Sam Querrey. Youzhny is starting to heat up after a dismal year-long stretch of tennis; the 6'6'' Querrey owns a power game that should be conducive to grass courts.
Unseeded players to watch included Janko Tipsarevic, Ivan Ljubicic, and Julien Benneteau. Tipsarevic and Ljubicic, however, face tough first-round encounters with Mathieu and Andreas Seppi, respectively. Benneteau finished runner-up at a clay-court tournament leading up to Wimbledon and his net prowess should make him even more dangerous on a faster surface.
Needless to say, this title is up for grabs. At least one of the 32 entrants will seize some all-important momentum heading into the next fortnight's events at the All-England Club.
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