The West Australian fell 6-1 6-0 to Serbian Bojana Jovanovski in what was Dellacqua’s first match since March.

“It wasn’t too fun out there today for me,” said Dellacqua. “It was obviously my first match for a long time and it just showed. I just haven’t had enough matches. She came up with a lot of good shots and a lot of winners. Just obviously not my best day.

Dellacqua has struggled with injury for the past 12 months – first a left shoulder reconstruction and then foot problems sidelining the former top 40 player.

“I did the best preparation that I could possibly do to get out there today and obviously that just wasn’t enough. You always want to play at Wimbledon. To be honest I probably wasn’t quite ready for this but I gave myself the best shot I could and obviously it wasn’t good enough today.

“My foot does not feel the best but it feels ok. If you are not at the level where you can compete it makes it pretty tough so I will have to make some decisions about what I will do in the next few weeks.”

Dellacqua is scheduled to play in the Wimbledon doubles event with countrywoman Alicia Molik. The pair is due to meet British duo Jocelyn Rae and Heather Watson in the first round.

]]> http://www.caseydellacqua.com.au/2010/06/23/no-fairytale-comeback-for-casey/feed/ http://www.caseydellacqua.com.au/2010/06/21/dellacqua-ready-to-put-her-mended-foot-forward/ http://www.caseydellacqua.com.au/2010/06/21/dellacqua-ready-to-put-her-mended-foot-forward/#comments Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:02:24 +0000 darren http://www.caseydellacqua.com.au/?p=575 Casey Dellacqua is back on court and happily flying under the radar as she prepares for her opening round match.

Dellacqua says she is content to merely to be playing again after two months in a protective boot recovering from stress fractures in her right foot.

The West Australian has slipped to No.203 in the world, but used her “special” ranking of No.82 in the world to gain a late inclusion in the main draw.

Dellacqua had hoped to return at Birmingham a fortnight ago, but wasn’t quite ready and will go in “pretty underdone” against Serbian Grand Slam novice Bojana Jovanovski on Tuesday.

“I’m just looking forward to being out there and being at Wimbledon again,” Dellacqua said.

“I’ve done the best that I can in the time that I had and we’ll see how I go in terms of executing in a match situation.”

Under WTA rules, Dellacqua can only use her special ranking for one Grand Slam tournament event, plus eight other regular tour events and she figured Wimbledon was the best option.

“I won at Mildura at the beginning of the year on grass and grass is probably one of my preferred surfaces,” the West Australian said.

“For the feet, it’s softer on the ground and generally the points are probably a little bit shorter so that suits my game style a bit more.

“So I thought I’d put myself out there, hit a lot of balls and just see where I’m at and see how I go.”

The last time the 25-year-old West Australian stepped on court was an opening round loss on the Indian Wells hard courts.

Dellacqua will be hoping that she fares better on the grass courts of Wimbledon where she will meet Serbian Bojana Jovanovski.

Currently ranked 205 in the world, Dellacqua used her protected ranking to gain entry into the third Grand Slam of the year.

She is one of nine Australians hoping for success on the famed grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
This will be the first time Dellacqua and Jovanovski have played. The 18-year-old Serbian is currently ranked 108 in the world and has spent most of 2010 playing ITF level events and qualifying rounds for WTA tournaments.

Singles

Doubles with Alicia Molik (AUS)

She opened with a 7-5 5-7 6-3 win over American Shenay Perry. The Australian followed that up with a comprehensive 6-2 6-2 drubbing of Darya Kustova to add her name to the main draw.

Dellacqua, currently ranked No.234, will play Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova in the first-round in what will be the pair’s first meeting.

The 25 year old has made steady progress since returning from a long-term injury spell (shoulder and foot), which she capped off with winning an ITF event in Mildura in February.

Qualifying results

Main draw singles results

Dellacqua took her time settling into the match, losing her first service game before using her strength to win four games in a row to take the first set 6-2.

The second set saw Dellacqua take an early 3-0 lead before Yonemura came back to level the scores at 3-3. Dellacqua then won the next three games to win the set 6-3.

“After my shoulder surgery I am really trying to get as much game experience as possible. It is great to be playing again and I really love playing in Sydney,” Dellacqua said.

Dellacqua will take on sixth seed Ryoko Fuda from Japan in her next match on Thursday.

Second seed Sophie Ferguson (NSW) is also through to the next round defeating Victorian Tiffany Welford 6-2 6-2.
Ferguson took an early lead in both sets and won the match in just over an hour. She will play Japan’s Chiaki Okadaue in the second round.

The Sydney Women’s International runs until March 7th and is run in conjunction with the ‘Women in Sport’ week held at Sydney Olympic Park. The event is free to attend.

Results:
Marija Mirkovic (VIC) d Kumiko Iijima (JPN) 6-4 2-6 6-3
(5) Junri Namigata (JPN) d Ashling Sumner (QLD) 6-3 6-1
Jennifer Elie (USA) d Varatchaya Wongteanchai (THA) 6-1 6-4
Cagla Buyukakcay (TUR) d Jessica Moore (WA) 3-6 6-2 7-5
Casey Dellacqua (WA) d Akiko Yonemura (JPN) 6-2 6-3  (2)
Sophie Ferguson (NSW) d Tiffany Welford (VIC) 6-2 6-2
Erin Liefeld (NSW) d Emelyn Starr (NSW) 6-4 6-3

Mildura, Victoria, Australia
15-22 February 2010
Surface: Grass
Official website: www.tennis.com.au

Dellacqua, the sixth seed, was too strong for Victorian [8] Sally Peers winning the final in straight sets 7-5 6-0.

Teaming with fellow West Australian Jessica Moore, Dellacqua also won the women’s doubles title, defeating Victorians Jarmila Groth and Jade Hopper 6-2 7-6(3).

“It’s been a great week.  My main goal coming here was to get as much tennis as I could and I did that, winning the singles and the doubles,” Dellacqua said.

“It was really tough to hold serve because of the wind and neither of us could really break away.  It was a great first set and I was lucky to get on top of her and finish the match the way I did.

I really enjoyed Mildura; it is a really great town.  The weather was nice and the grass courts were fantastic,” Dellacqua said.