Due to travel to the Island by Solidor V she was unaware that the ship had been seized by the Island’s authorities and both she and her coach had to spend the night in St Malo before making other arrangements to arrive, late, this morning.As it is, the world-ranked No 159 will play her match against Yugoslavia’s Dragana Zaric later on this afternoon.Unaware of the frantic race to ensure Beltrame reached the Island, two of Britain’s up-and-coming tennis players, Karen Paterson and Chantal Coombs, successfully qualified for the main draw yesterday afternoon.In all-British encounters Paterson beat Anna Hawkins 6-1, 6-3, while Coombs beat Kirst Woolley 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.They are two of eight players who join the top 24 seeds in the 32-player draw which includes another six British players, including the daughter of former Wimbeldon finalist, Christine James (formerly Truman), Amanda, whose first match began against Sweden’s Hanna Nooni at midday.Top seed and ranked No 132 in the world, Sofia Arvidsson, also from Sweden, is the favourite for the tournament and she seems to have a relatively easy game against Britain’s Sarah Borwell, who is 251 places below her.Their match begins on court 1 at 6 pm.
The only all-British match, as the players are whittled down to the last 16 who play again tomorrow, is between Hannah Collin and Helen Crook.
Their game began at midday, as did the game between Paterson and France’s Sophie Le Fevre, seeded No 6 for the tournament.For Paterson, who on a world ranking is over 200 places below her opponent, this will be a real challenge, although she has already played and won twice in qualifying for these final stages.The doubles begin tomorrow with the No 1 seeds, Maria Geznenge of Bulgaria partnering Dragana Zaric of Yugoslavia, competing against Tessy van de Ven and Suzanne van Hartingsve of Holland.Admission for the tournament is free and the evening games start at 6 o’clock.
