TENNIS in DEPTH.

The British number one remains confident he can break his major duck, and he is hoping changes to his diet and preparation can help him overhaul the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. He said of his grand slam hopes on BBC Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek programme: “It’s a huge motivation for me to keep working hard, to keep working at it. I believe I’ll get there. ”I’ve learned a lot, especially in the last few months, about my game, about my mindset and where I’m at and what I’m going to need to do to get past Roger, Rafa and Novak in the rankings. ”It’s an exciting time for me and I’m much more professional than I ever was in the build-up to this Wimbledon. ”I’m taking things like my diet very, very seriously, my training is more specific than it’s ever been. The on-court stuff, I feel just like I’m in a better place. ”When I’m on the practice court I’m enjoying it a lot, having fun but working hard and I just feel I understand better now how to approach matches in big tournaments and taking a lot more responsibility.”

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Andreas Seppi of Italy claimed his maiden ATP crown as he battled to victory over Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic in the final of the AEGON International at Eastbourne. In a contest that threatened to fall victim to fading light, the unseeded Seppi finally prevailed in the decider hen his third-seeded opponent was forced to retire through injury when trailing 6-7 (5/7) 6-3 3-5. Seppi had looked in good touch as he battled to claim the opener on a tie-breaker but Tipsarevic hit back in the second, claiming two breaks to Seppi’s one to force the decider. Seppi stepped it up in the third, racing into a 4-0 lead before a rain interruption forced the players off for 20 minutes. The break briefly galvanised world number 30 Tipsarevic, who got the set back on serve by winning three games in succession after the resumption. But in the ninth game Tipsarevic, who had been complaining to officials about the poor light, slipped on the baseline while attempting to reach the ball and a 10-minute delay followed as an apparent groin injury was treated. Tipsarevic was subsequently broken to fall 3-5 behind, and at that point his body cried enough and he withdrew after two hours and 35 minutes on court.

Marion Bartoli posted a three-set win over Petra Kvitova to clinch the AEGON International title in Eastbourne. The sixth-seeded Frenchwoman, a runner-up at Wimbledon in 2007, registered a 6-1 4-6 7-5 win over the fifth-ranked Czech to secure her first ever grass-court title. Kvitova had her chances in a wind-affected match that lasted two hours 15 minutes – particularly in the final set – but Bartoli dug deep to register her first tour win since August 2009. Leading by a set and 3-1 in the second, Bartoli looked set to cruise home to victory before Kvitova won three in a row to go 4-3 ahead. Kvitova held the rest of the way to take it to a decider. With Bartoli struggling with a groin injury, the odds looked stacked in Kvitova’s favour as they traded breaks on the way to 5-5 in the final set. But it was the Frenchwoman who finished strongest, breaking for 6-5 before holding to seal the perfect result ahead of Wimbledon, for which she is seeded ninth.

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Between them the sisters have won nine of the last 11 titles at SW19, with only Sharapova in 2004 and Amelie Mauresmo two years later breaking their dominance. The Russian will be one of the players expected to challenge for the title again after returning to something like her best form, but she knows which names will be on everybody’s lips. Sharapova said: “They’ve been champions here for many years. They’re obviously the ones to beat on grass. They’ve been out for a while so it’s definitely great to have them back.” Serena has dropped down to 26th in the rankings but has been seeded eighth because of her record at Wimbledon while Venus has been promoted from 33rd to 23rd. The changes mean although Serena is in the same half of the draw as top seed Caroline Wozniacki and fifth seed Sharapova, she could not meet either until the semi-finals.

Sharapova looks to have her best chance of winning a second Wimbledon title for a number of years after finally putting her long-term shoulder problems behind her. She impressed at the French Open, reaching the semi-finals for only the second time in her career before losing to eventual champion Li Na, and the Russian believes that will prove to be ideal preparation for Wimbledon. She added: “I’m playing a lot better. I played a lot of matches on clay, which I really wanted to do. One of the reasons I love the transition is because I feel like you learn so much about the game when you’re on the clay courts. ”This is one of the best parts of the year for me. It’s one of the toughest transitions from clay to grass, but for me it’s a lot of fun.”

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Sixth seed Bartoli secured her place in Saturday afternoon’s final with a clinical 6-3 6-1 win over Sam Stosur. Kvitova’s opponent Daniela Hantuchova was forced to retire with an abdominal injury when trailing 7-6 (11-9) 4-2.

Meanwhile Italy’s Roberta Vinci beat Jelena Dokic of Australia 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 7-5 in the Den Bosch Open women’s final on Saturday.

In the men’s semi-finals, Kei Nishikori faces Janko Tipsarevic and Igor Kunitsyn plays Andreas Seppi.

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Last year, Rafael Nadal lifted the trophy for the second time, beating Czech Tomas Berdych in straight sets. The result was 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. The Spaniard is defending 2,000 points, Nole 720, so should Nadal not win the title again, Djokovic would be number as they are just 65 points apart.

In his seventh appearance at Wimbledon, second-seeded Novak will open his campaign against world number 52, Jeremy Chardy (France). Nole has won all their five previous encounters. In the second round Djokovic will play against the winner of the match between Kevin Anderson and Illya Marchenko.

These are Nole’s potential rivals in the later stages of the tournament:

Third round: Marcos Baghdatis (CYP,32), James Blake (USA)

Fourth round: Viktor Troicki (SRB, 13), Michael Llodra (FRA, 19)

Quarterfinals: Robin Soderling (SWE, 5), Jurgen Melzer (AUT,11), Nikolay Davydenko (RUS,29), Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)

Semifinals: Roger Federer (SUI, 3), David Ferrer (ESP, 7), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA, 12), Mikhail Youzhny (RUS,18), David Nalbandian (ARG,28)

Finals: Rafael Nadal (ESP,1), Andy Murray (GBR, 4), Tomas Berdych (CZE,6), Andy Roddick (USA, 8), Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG,24),…

Last year, Novak lost in the semi-finals to Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-7(9), 3-6.

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Williams, seeded seventh after the withdrawal of Kim Clijsters, won the opening match of her comeback in Eastbourne before losing out to Vera Zvonareva in a repeat of last year’s Championships’ final, and will be closely monitored when she plays her first match on Monday. The former world No.1 has faced the talented Frenchwoman just once in competition, rallying from a set down to defeat the world No.56 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the pre-Australian Open tournament in Sydney in 2010. And so Rezai will not be a cakewalk for the four-time Wimbledon Champion, especially given her lack of match fitness.

Sitting alongside Williams in the top half of the draw is current world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who will open her grass court season against Spain’s Arantxa Parra Santonja, the world No.107. Wozniacki, who comes into Wimbledon with 17 titles under her belt in what has still been a relatively short career, will once again be the focus of much attention on the lawns of SW19 as she attempts to win her first Grand Slam title. But in order to do so, she will have to contend with Maria Sharapova, her opposite number in the top quarter of the draw. Viewed by many as a favourite for this year’s title, Sharapova is deemed to have finally fully recovered from the shoulder injury that has blighted her for the past two years, and comes into Wimbledon fighting fit and full of confidence at what is one of her favourite Grand Slams. She opens against fellow Russian, world No.50 Anna Chakvetadze.

Should Sharapova triumph, she will face the winner of world No.77 Angelique Kerber against former junior Champion Laura Robson, awarded a wild card into The Championships this year. Fellow Brit Heather Watson, who broke into the top 100 last week, is also in the top half of the draw, meeting world No.64 Mathilde Johansson, as is British No.1 Elena Baltacha, who plays a qualifier. Emily Webley-Smith faces Klara Zakopalova. French Open Champion Li Na joked that she would be forgotten in China if she doesn’t do well at Wimbledon, and so she should be pleased at a first-round match up with world No.70 Alla Kudryavtseva. But danger lies in the prospect of a second round meeting with the in-form wild card Sabine Lisicki, quarter-finalist at The Championships in 2009, who won the warm-up event at Edgbaston Priory Club last week.

Ana Ivanovic, who plays American Melanie Oudin, Marion Bartoli, who meets a qualifier, and Agnieszka Radwanska, who will face Olga Govortsova, are other notable names in the top half of the draw.

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Italian qualifier Romina Oprandi, continued to make the most of her Clijsters-beating run. After grabbing the first set in a tie-break, the Switzerland-based world No.82 beat Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in straight sets, 76(3) 64. Oprandi’s semifinal opponent will be Jelena Dokic, after the former world No.4 edged Johanna Larsson in two tight sets, 76(2) 64. The fourth quarterfinal saw No.2 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova take on No.5 seed Dominika Cibulkova, but the match was interrupted by rain with the score poised at 4-4 in the first set. Vinci awaits the winner.

The semifinal line-up took shape at the $220,000 Unicef Open on Thursday, minus No.3 seed Yanina Wickmayer, who was surprised by a player better known for her exploits on clay: seventh-seeded Roberta Vinci. Having applied her one-handed slice to great effect to get a set and a break ahead, Vinci issued her seventh ace of the match to set up three match points against her young Belgian opponent. Wickmayer held off two of them but the Italian went through on the third, 64 64. Three of 28-year-old Vinci’s four titles have been won on red clay – the most recent coming at Barcelona this year – and should she win her next match she’ll be through to the first grass court final of her career.

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Venus Williams’ hopes of securing a title on her return from injury were ended today as she was beaten by Daniela Hantuchova in the quarter-finals of the AEGON International at Eastbourne. Williams, who has this week returned to the game after a spell on the sidelines with knee and hip problems, had impressed in reaching the last eight but her Slovakian opponent proved too strong as she secured a 6-2 5-7 6-2 success. The American, seeded 23 for Wimbledon, struggled badly during the opening set and conceded two breaks of serve to lose it 6-2. She appeared to be on the verge of a straight-sets defeat after being broken again early in the second set but she rallied valiantly from 4-2 down to force a decider. But her serve let her down as she won just 38% of first serve points in the final set to allow Hantuchova to prevail in a match lasting almost two and a half hours.

Williams’ sister Serena, herself returning from injury, went out to Vera Zvonareva in the second round yesterday.

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