Paszek beats Kerber in Eastbourne final
Paszek beats Kerber in Eastbourne final
Unseeded Austrian Tamira Paszek saved five
match points and overcame a leg injury to beat fifth seed Angelique
Kerber 5-7 6-3 7-5 and win the Eastbourne International.
Paszek, the world number 59, was a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon last year but had never won a grasscourt title until Saturday,
when she put up a fierce fight against the German.
Kerber had five match points at 5-3 in the deciding set but Paszek,
who had problems with her right leg after slipping in the seventh game,
saved them all, helped by some unforced errors from the German.Paszek, 21, took a medical time-out to have her right ankle strapped and called the trainer again to massage her calf during a changeover before clinching the match on her third match point.
"It was kind of weird... I hurt my Achilles and the ankle a bit, so I wasn't even thinking about the score or what was going on," Paszek said.
"I kept going, won that game, then was just like, 'Okay, whatever, just keep playing and try to focus on every point'. To be honest, I didn't realise it was match point or I was 5-3 down. I was just enjoying being on the court, enjoying the atmosphere with this amazing crowd.
"I don't know what kept me going. I was dead tired in the third set. I could hardly move. I just gave all I had left, and it was just enough.
"I always knew I'm a fighter and I always believed in myself, but I'd say my coach Andrei [Pavel] really helped me find my passion for the game and the belief in myself again."
Austrian Paszek, who will face former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the first round at Wimbledon next week, sank to her knees and kissed the grass at Devonshire Park.
Andy Roddick later claimed the men's title with a swift 6-3 6-2 victory over 2011 champion Andreas Seppi of Italy.
The early games had been accompanied by chants from a delegation of Dutch dockers, standing outside a gate close to Centre Court, who accused insurance company Aegon, the principal tournament sponsor, of mishandling their pension fund, but the notorious Eastbourne winds carried away their cries before the men were shepherded away by security staff.
