Cavaday marches on in qualifying

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:34

The British number six breezed past Rika Fujiwara 6-0 6-3 in the first round on Tuesday but found life much tougher against German 20th seed Angelique Kerber.

Cavaday, 20, began in similar fashion, taking the first set without dropping a game, but Kerber, who is ranked 154 places higher than the Briton at 132 in the world, hit back. She levelled proceedings and looked to be in control in the decider but Cavaday dug deep then broke Kerber’s serve in the 11th game before serving out for a 6-0 3-6 7-5 victory.

Cavaday is battling back up the rankings after a debilitating virus forced her out of action for five months last year and is aiming for a fourth main-draw appearance at Wimbledon.

She has yet to win in the senior draw at SW19 but two of her matches have been against Venus Williams and Martina Hingis, against whom she held two match points in 2007 before going down in three sets.

There was disappointment in the men’s draw, however, with Britain’s three remaining hopefuls all losing in the second round.

British number eight Alex Slabinsky was beaten 7-6 (7/4) 6-1 by fourth seed Roko Karanusic, Marcus Willis succumbed 6-2 6-4 to Italy’s Andrea Stoppini while fellow teenager Josh Milton won the first set against Austria’s Alexander Peya before going down 3-6 6-4 6-2.

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