By Ros Satar
(June 21, 2013) EASTBOURNE, England –
Feliciano Lopez def. Ivan Dodig 7-6(3), 6-1
Feliciano Lopez was first into the Eastbourne final on Friday, handling the blustery conditions better than Ivan Dodig with a straight sets win.
“It’s about [adjusting] and to play your best, at least try your best, because with these conditions it’s always very difficult, he said.
“During the week it was okay. Hopefully tomorrow it’s going to be better.”
Lopez, who has had some time out this year with injuries, was pleased with his performance and happy to be in the final.
Ironically, he will face Gilles Simon, in a forerunner for the first round match at Wimbledon.
“In a way [it] is good, because tomorrow if I win or if I lose, I will take some feedback for the match on Tuesday, and I think for him the same.”
Gilles Simon def. Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-3
Simon looked to be unstoppable after taking the first set, as he sped to a comfortable double-break cushion in the second set.
But Seppi mounted a brief comeback before Simon was able to book his place in the final.
“He just had a slow start as he had in the match before. I knew it, and I wanted to take advantage of it.
“You have to work, to work, to play great. I think we played a very high level second set today.”
Earlier in the week, Simon limped off the practice court and was suffering a lot in his match with young Brit, Kyle Edmund.
“I had everything. I was so sick. I twisted my ankle. I broke my neck. I said, Okay, it’s too much. I will never play this tournament. (Laughter.)”
Both men would like to take this tournament, both as a title in its own right, but as a useful fact-finding mission ahead of the first round bout coming up.
“It’s a tough call, because of course my goal is to be as good as possible in Wimbledon, and to lose in the first round would be disappointing for me,” he said.
“To win tomorrow, I would have won tournaments on every continent on every type of court, which would be good, also.”
Ros Satar is a British Journalist – an IT journalist by day, and a sports journalist in all the gaps in between. She’s covering the AEGON International this week as media for Tennis Panorama News. Follow her tournament updates on twitter @TennisNewsTPN. She is the co-founder of Britwatch Sports (britwatchsports.com). Follow her personal twitter at @rfsatar.