Venus faces crash lawsuit
Having battled through qualifying at Wimbledon, Marina Erakovic may have been hoping for a better deal than the one she got.
She will play world No 2 Simona Halep in the first round of singles this week, a match that is sure to test her return to form.
Halep is closing in on Angelique Kerber to become the No 1 in the world and depending how Wimbledon goes, could achieve that.
The Romanian has been in redhot form; she made it to the final at Roland Garros last month and did at least the same in her two tournaments before that.
In their only match against each other Erakovic retired when down 3-0 in the second set, having lost the first 6-2.
So is it worth Erakovic bothering to even turn up?
Well, yes, the match is on grass, the surface the players are least It's been a rough six months to a year for me. But I felt like in the last week or two I've gone through some matches where I've brought out a lot of good tennis. accustomed to. Erakovic played 10 matches over the past fortnight on grass and won nine of them. Halep has played three and won two.
Yes, Halep has been playing tougher opponents, but Erakovic believes playing matches on grass in the lead up to Wimbledon benefits her.
‘‘Compared to the other grand slams, if you go through qualifiers on grass it’s really different,’’ Erakovic said
‘‘Playing matches on grass isn’t the same as just hitting. So I think all the players who come through qualifying have an advantage.’’
Just getting this far at Wimbledon has been a significant achievement for Erakovic.
She’s had some tough losses against ordinary players this year, such as losing in straight sets to Aleksandrina Naydenova, ranked 303 in the world, in Nuremberg and Sesil Karatantcheva (223) at Indian Harbour Beach.
Those are matches she wouldn’t have come close to losing a few years ago when she was in the top 50.
But the beginning of the grass court season sparked a revival from Erakovic, firstly in doubles where she reached the final in Surbiton, then Manchester, followed by singles, winning six matches in Ilkley, then coming through Wimbledon qualifying.
She acknowledges there have been some dark moments for her, but that’s made her recent results all the more satisfying.
‘‘I pat myself on the said.
‘‘It’s been a rough six months to a year for me. But I felt like in the last week or two I’ve gone through some matches where I’ve brought out a lot of good tennis, a lot of good mental toughness. back,’’ she
‘‘I’ve been really keen to string a few matches in a row, I’m very happy with that and obviously it gives me confidence.’’
After a week spent at the Bank of England Sports Centre, 4.8km away from where Wimbledon takes place, Erakovic is looking forward to playing in the main draw there for the eighth time in her career.
‘‘It’s great to go there, Wimbledon is a special place,’’ she said.
‘‘I know so many people there, I know the locker room attendants and it will be good to see everyone again.’’
Erakovic will start at the underdog, but if she can control her nerves on the big stage, serve well, keep the ball deep in the rallies and unleash her powerful forehand, she might just have a chance. The daughter of a man killed in a car crash involving tennis star Venus Williams has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against her.
Williams was crossing an intersection in her Toyota SUV in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, around 1pm on June 9 (US time), when, according to a police report, she collided with a car being driven by Linda Barson. Barson’s husband, Jerome, 78, was a passenger in the car, and died June 22 from injuries he suffered in the crash.
According to the lawsuit, filed on Thursday and obtained by The New York Times, Linda Barson, 68, also suffered injuries, including ‘‘a cracked sternum, shattered right arm, broken wrist, hand and fingers.’’
Williams, who arrived in London on Wednesday to prepare for her 20th Wimbledon tournament, was physically unharmed in the crash.
The accident happened as Williams’ car was crossing the intersection at about 5 mph and Barson’s car ran into it, the report said.
DAVID LONG AT WIMBLEDON