Anne books Na Li clash
The British No.2 beats Pauline Parmentier to set up a second round clash with Na Li at the Aegon Classic
Anne Keothavong put in a gutsy shift on Court 1, the wettest of the quartet of playable courts in Birmingham on Wednesday, to win her opening match at the AEGON Classic.
Every bit as tight as the scoreline suggests, the former world No.48 eventually took down Pauline Parmentier 4-6 7-5 7-5 to set up a testing second round clash with China’s Na Li.
“It was a tough match and we’d both been hanging around waiting to play but I’m glad I got through in the end. I just had to hang in there,” said Keothavong.
“My first serve percentage wasn’t where I’d like it to be and she (Parmentier) had her chances but I toughed it out in the end. Since Nottingham, I haven’t been able to practice as much as I’d like because of various little niggles and some days you can’t play perfect tennis but just have to fight your way through.
“My level picked up in the final set. I changed it up and once I got a feel for the courts I got better.”