Breakthrough Win For Chiswick Tennis Star

Jodie Burrage defeats player ranked 400 places above her

Picture: Getty Images for the LTA

A teenager from Chiswick has secured the biggest victory of her career in a pre-Wimbledon grass court tournament

19-year-old Jodie Burrage, 19, won through in the first round of qualifying at the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham on Saturday (16 June), defeating Bojana Jovanovski Petrović of Serbia in straight sets.

Jodie is coached by former Great Britain No.1 Lucy Ahl and trains at JTC at Dukes Meadow in Chiswick. She is regarded as one of the most promising junior British players but faced a tough challenge having been drawn against an experienced opponent in Saturday’s opening round of qualifying at Edgbaston Priory Club - although ranked 400 places below her, Jovanovski Petrović is a former top-40 player looking to climb back up the rankings after two years out with injury.

After battling to take a tight first set tie-break, the British teenager showed real composure at 3-2 in the second set and seal an impressive 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 victory for what is the first WTA win of her career. She will now face compatriot Katy Dunne on the Ann Jones Centre Court in the headline match of Sunday’s second round of qualifying.

Speaking after the match, Jodie said: “Her level was good, you can tell she liked the grass with the way she hit the ball. She hit it quite flat but I kind of like it like that as well so I can use her pace.

“The support of the crowd really helps, especially in tight moments like the first set in the tie break. To hear them cheering, even if you lost the point or won the point, it really helps you to stay positive on the court.”

Should Jodie win two further matches in qualifying, the prize on offer is a place in the 32-player main singles draw alongside a host of tennis’ biggest names, including reigning Wimbledon champion Garbiñe Muguruza, World No.5 Elina Svitolina, World No.7 Karolina Pliskova, British No.1 Johanna Konta and two-time Wimbledon winner and defending Birmingham champion Petra Kvitova.

The Nature Valley Classic is part of a series of pre-Wimbledon international grass court tournaments across the country. Fans can keep track of Jodie’s progress in Birmingham or find out more about any of this summer’s British Tennis events and buy tickets to watch the action live online.

June 17, 2018