(June 18, 2013) -- It took her five tries, but rising American player
Jamie Hampton finally got the "W" against top seed
Agnieszka Radwanska at the Aegon International at Eastbourne.
Hampton previously lost to the Polish star and Wimbledon finalist four times in a row, including earlier this year in two tiebreak sets at Auckland. But that experience and having coming through qualifying at the grass court tune-up may have given Hampton the right combination she needed to earn her first-ever top-five win.
Radwanska, competing in her first grass court event of the season, found herself edged out by the American in the first set tiebreak. After that, Hampton didn't look back as she went on to claim the 7-6(2), 6-2 victory. It is the second top-10 win for Hampton in as many weeks, as she earlier beat Petra Kvitova at Roland Garros.
Despite the loss, Radwanska later took comfort in the fact that though she also lost in the opening round of Eastbourne last year, it didn't affect her Wimbledon results.
"I lost first round here but still ended up playing great tennis at Wimbledon," Radwanska told WTA.com.
Li, Kerber, Kvitova Move Ahead with Straight-Sets Wins
The rest of the top seeds at Eastbourne didn't face the same difficulties as Radwanska.
Despite play being stopped for an extended period due to an injured spectator needing medical attention, that didn't prevent China's
Li Na from wrapping up a 6-2, 6-4 win over
Alize Cornet.
Petra Kvitova, who lost in the first round of Eastbourne last year, made sure of a win today as she took out
Monica Niculescu 6-4, 6-1.
It was a similar straightforward day for both
Angelique Kerber, who defeated
Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-4, and
Sam Stosur, who beat
Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-3.
Wozniacki Sets Up Meeting With Robson
Caroline Wozniacki advanced into the next round when her opponent, defending champion
Tamira Paszek, was forced to retire with a thigh injury while down 2-6, 2-all.
Next up for Wozniacki is UK's own
Laura Robson, who recently beat the Dane during their second-round match at Roland Garros a few weeks ago.