Australian teenager Ashleigh Barty has been handed a Wimbledon women's singles main draw wildcard after winning the $50,000 grass court warm-up event in Nottingham over the weekend.
The 16-year-old Queenslander beat Tatjana Malek 6-1, 6-1 in the final in the East Midlands event on Sunday, albeit after the German world number 149 had been forced to play her semi-final earlier in the day.
Barty had already been awarded a place in qualifying at the All England Club after winning the girls' junior title at Wimbledon last year.
She made her senior grand slam debut at the Australian Open earlier this year and also received a wildcard for the French Open but lost in the first round on both occasions.
Bernard Tomic meanwhile will look to boost his Wimbledon ranking when he faces either Fabio Fagnini or Albert Ranos on Tuesday in Eastbourne.
Last year's quarter-finalist, ranked 27th in the world, received a first-round bye and holds a slim hope of receiving a top-24 Wimbledon seeding which would mean he would not face a top-eight seed until the fourth round.
Reuters/ABC
Tags: sport, tennis, australia, qld, england First posted June 18, 2012 14:49:41
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