VITALIA DIATCHENKO JOINED Conor Niland in the final qualifying round of Wimbledon after winning her second round match earlier.
The 20-year-old Russian, who lives in Dublin and is coached by Irish Davis Cup captain Garry Cahill, came through a tough 6-3, 6-3 clash against the seventh seed Maria Elena Camerin of Italy.
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Recovering from 0-2 in the 2nd set, Diatchenko won four straight games before serving out the match in Roehampton.
The Moscow native , who is ranked 159th in the world and trains at Tennis Ireland BNP-Paribas Academy in DCU, will now face 23rd seed Stephanie Dubois of Canada for a place in the main draw.
Meanwhile, Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters withdrew from Wimbledon today because of a foot injury – leaving the women’s field wide open.
The Belgian No 2 seed, said she had to pull out of the grass-court Grand Slam after injuring her right foot at the Unicef Open in the Netherlands on Tuesday.
The two-week Wimbledon tournament starts Monday at the All England Club.
Clijsters, a three-time US Open winner, hurt her right ankle in April while dancing barefoot at her cousin’s wedding. She played at the French Open but lost in the second round. At Wimbledon, Clijsters has twice reached the semifinals.
Dublin-based Diatchenko into final Wimbledon qualifier
VITALIA DIATCHENKO JOINED Conor Niland in the final qualifying round of Wimbledon after winning her second round match earlier.
The 20-year-old Russian, who lives in Dublin and is coached by Irish Davis Cup captain Garry Cahill, came through a tough 6-3, 6-3 clash against the seventh seed Maria Elena Camerin of Italy.
Recovering from 0-2 in the 2nd set, Diatchenko won four straight games before serving out the match in Roehampton.
The Moscow native , who is ranked 159th in the world and trains at Tennis Ireland BNP-Paribas Academy in DCU, will now face 23rd seed Stephanie Dubois of Canada for a place in the main draw.
Meanwhile, Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters withdrew from Wimbledon today because of a foot injury – leaving the women’s field wide open.
The Belgian No 2 seed, said she had to pull out of the grass-court Grand Slam after injuring her right foot at the Unicef Open in the Netherlands on Tuesday.
The two-week Wimbledon tournament starts Monday at the All England Club.
Clijsters, a three-time US Open winner, hurt her right ankle in April while dancing barefoot at her cousin’s wedding. She played at the French Open but lost in the second round. At Wimbledon, Clijsters has twice reached the semifinals.
Read more: The road to SW19: What’s next for Conor Niland >
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