| Friday, 27 June 2008 Written by Kate Battersby The number 18 seed Nicole Vaidisova continued to pull herself out of her springtime slump at Wimbledon today. The former French and Australian semi-finalist won a place in the last 16 with a straightforward win over Casey Dellacqua 6-2, 6-4, in a match featuring the first rain delay at this Wimbledon. The ease of her win should provide the Czech with an extra boost to her confidence, as on their previous two meetings Dellacqua has proved a tricky customer for her. Both earlier matches were three-setters, and Dellacqua, a player on the up, won their last joust at Indian Wells when Vaidisova was in the middle of a six-match losing streak. By making the third round here, Dellacqua will achieve a career high from her current 43 when the new rankings are released after The Championships. But the 23-year-old Australian left-hander found it tough going on Court 18 today. It was a pity because she could have done Vaidisova some damage if only her confidence was just a little stronger. The Czech has improved her progress at Wimbledon on each of her previous four appearances, holding three match points against Ana Ivanovic in last year's quarter-finals before succumbing. But this year has not been kind to the player who was ranked seven just one year ago. That six-match losing streak, which began in the spring, ended only this month in Birmingham when she reached the quarters, but last week she went out at Eastbourne in the first round again. The 19-year-old has won six titles, but five of them were accumulated before her 17th birthday. Dellacqua, meanwhile, has been enjoying her finest year. Always rated highly by Tennis Australia, she reached her early 20s without piercing the top 100. But then she worked on her fitness, lost weight and began to improve. In Australia this year she beat seeds Patti Schnyder and Amelie Mauresmo on the way to the fourth round while last month she made the third round at Roland Garros. Popular and fun in interviews, her on-court style is true to that of her never-say-die coach Nicole Pratt. None of which sounds as if she should lack of confidence. But today that was exactly how it felt on Court 18. She surrendered her serve in the first game through a combination of inaccuracy on her part and useful baseline work from Vaidisova. When Dellacqua earned a break point of her own, not only did she fail to convert but she was broken again in the next game. Vaidisova's superior experience at this level gave her the confidence her opponent lacked and she served it out with ease to take the set 6-2. By now spots of rain were falling on Court 18. For a short time Dellacqua reduced her error count, but she could not make her improvement stick and Vaidisova was producing too many winners. She broke for 3-2 before play was suspended two games later. It was an hour and 48 minutes before they could continue, but the resumption was all too brief for Dellacqua. Vaidisova served it out to sew up her place in the last 16.
| Court 18 - Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round | |
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