British women face tough tests
Will Wimbledon 2007 be the stage for a British woman to make a name for herself?
Also In The News
|
Published by Orion Books, out June 21st, 321 pages, £20. |  |
Friday, 22, Jun 2007 11:36
British wildcards Anne Keothavong, Naomi Cavaday and Elena Baltacha have all been handed tough first-round matches in the ladies' singles draw at Wimbledon.
Keothavong, the British number three, plays third seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia while Baltacha is paired with 19th seed Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia.
Cavaday, a promising British youngster, may fancy her chances of an upset against former champion and number nine seed Martina Hingis, who enters the tournament with doubts over her fitness after suffering from a hip injury lately.
British number one Melanie South is drawn against another seed, 26th-ranked player Ai Sugiyama of Japan. Number two Katie O'Brien has perhaps the best chance of making the second round - she plays Germany's world number 106 Sandra Kloesel.
Defending ladies' champion Amelie Mauresmo of France will open her defence of the rosewater dish against American Jamea Jackson, while top seed Justine Henin is drawn against qualifier Jorgelina Cravero of Argentina.
Third seed and 2004 All England Club champion Maria Sharapova plays Yung-Jan Chan of Chinese Taipei in her first-round match.
Other interesting match-ups include tenth seed Daniela Hantuchova against the 2006 world junior champion, 15-year-old Anastasia Pavlachenkova; in-form Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli facing world number 73 Flavia Pennetta; and Nathalie Dechy, the French world number 48, against 12th seed Elena Dementieva.