Curtis beaten by Stanciute at Tarka

By arjones

THE WEST Country's hope at the AEGON Pro-Series Barnstaple 2009 crashed out this morning.

British number eight Jade Curtis, from Saltash in Cornwall, was beaten 6-2, 6-4 by a player who may prove just as popular with the Tarka Tennis Centre crowds.

Lithuanian Lina Stanciute was a favourite of the fans as she advanced through qualifying to the semi-finals of last year's Barnstaple Open.

She missed out on a place in the final against eventual champion Anne Keothavong when a leg injury forced her to withdraw from her match against Alberta Brianti, trailing 6-3, 6-7, 4-0.

"I really enjoyed it here last year," said Stanciute, 23, who is ranked 201 in the world.

"I had to retire in the semi-final because of my leg.

"I'd had a lot of matches before coming here and then I had to play the qualifiers so I was playing every day — eventually your body says stop."

Stanciute looked far more at ease with herself than Curtis who never found any fluency.

She held to love in the opening game, but Stanciute won the next five to take control.

Curtis pulled a game back but Stanciute produced a strong service game to close out the set.

Curtis was clearly frustrated by her game but she battled hard in the second set.

Stanciute stepped it up again in game six, reeling off two aces and a suberb backhand winner on successive points.

Three games later, she broke Curtis to love and secured the win with an excellent wide serve that forced Curtis to net the return.

In the quarter-finals tomorrow, Stanciute will meet French third seed Pauline Parmentier, who beat Stephanie Gehrlein 6-1, 6-2.

"The third seed is going to be tough but I have nothing to lose and I can go on court and have fun," said Stanciute who has risen 202 places in the world rankings she was last at Tarka.

"I've had an okay year with a few really good tournaments. I expected a little more but I am ranked higher than last year."

All four quarter-finals will be held tomorrow, with play starting at 11am.

See the tournament website for ticket details.