Maria Sharapova
had 25 minutes of play against Bethanie Mattek-Sands after being delayed for hours at the Aegon Classic. Photograph: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images
Maria Sharapova endured more frustration at Edgbaston today after she spent five hours waiting to get on to centre court despite the clear skies above and then saw her second-round match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands suspended because of rain within 25 minutes of it starting.
Although Sharapova, leading 4-0 and 40-30 ahead in the fifth game of the first set, was keen to get off court when the rain became heavier, the Russian could have been forgiven for thinking that her match should have long been completed. Play on the outside courts had started shortly after the scheduled start time of 11am, yet it was 4.30pm before centre court was in action as groundstaff struggled to deal with several damp patches.
When the match did get under way, Sharapova promptly raced into a 3-0 lead before play was held up for nine minutes as Mattek-Sands received treatment to her thigh. Light drizzle was beginning to fall at that point and when play resumed Sharapova signalled to the tournament referee that she was unhappy with the slippery surface. Only one more game was completed, meaning that only 25 minutes of tennis has been played on centre court in 48 hours.
Patrick Hughesman, the tournament director for the Aegon Classic, admitted that the delay in play getting under way on centre court was unacceptable, but he insisted nothing more could have been done in the circumstances.
Water appears to have got under the flat cover, which will be replaced when the tennis club undergoes a major facelift, and the problem was then exacerbated when the machine used to clear the surface broke down. At one point towels were being used to try to dry the court as the situation became almost farcical. "For sure centre court was behind and we regret that but we are doing the best we can," Hughesman said.
"We have worked on the courts that we believed we could get into action first because we wanted to complete as many matches as we could. We have had a problem on court one with the water that has taken us a lot longer than we would have liked [to clear], and the same for centre court, where we have struggled a bit with some damp areas. We were using towels to dry up a few wet patches. It may be basic but it's effective."
Earlier in the day, Elena Baltacha, the British No1, was forced to retire midway through her first-round match against Kaia Kanepi after complaining of feeling unwell.
Baltacha suffered with heatstroke after winning at Nottingham last Saturday and admitted she was concerned she might jeopardise her involvement at Eastbourne next week, her final tournament before Wimbledon, if she tried to play on at Birmingham, where she lost the first set 6-1.
"Warming up wasn't too bad but at 2-1 I started feeling terrible," said Baltacha, who this evening revealed on her Twitter site that she had suspected food poisoning and would undergo tests tomorrow morning.
"I thought it was best I pulled out. My preparation was not the best. I was in bed for two and a half days. I want to feel fully fit for Eastbourne so I think it's better if I let my body get better now."
There was better news for the British No3, Anne Keothavong, who defeated Pauline Parmentier in three sets to reach the second round.
