Wimbledon wildcards for Laura Robson and Heather Watson
British teenagers Laura Robson and Heather Watson are among those to receive wildcards for Wimbledon this year.
The wildcard means 18-year-old Watson will make her debut in the Wimbledon main draw this year as she continues to make the transition from promising junior to the senior circuit.
The 16-year-old Robson (pictured) will be making her second appearance in the main draw at the All England Club, where she was also granted a wildcard in 2009. The left-hander rewarded organisers by pushing a then 32nd-ranked Daniela Hantuchova to three sets before losing to the Slovakian in her opening match.
The pair, who currently represent the best hopes of long-term success for women’s tennis in Britain, were both in the draw at the grass court Aegon Classic in Birmingham this week, where Robson was leading Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele 6-4, 0-1 when a back injury forced her opponent to concede defeat in the first round.
World No. 346 Watson, who won the US Open girls’ singles title last year, was beaten in straight sets by 81st-ranked Alla Kudryavtseva in her first round match at Birmingham.
With four women’s wildcards still to be announced, Wimbledon organisers have also granted wildcards into the singles draw to two more Britons: 131st-ranked Katie O’Brien and world No. 222 Melanie South.
In the men’s singles, only one British player is among the five wildcards that have so far been allocated and that is 23-year-old Jamie Baker, currently ranked as the world No. 254.
There will be hardly a raised eyebrow at the fact British No. 2 Alex Bogdanovic is not on the list of wildcards that have so far been announced.
With reports circulating that Bogdanovic has made himself unavailable for Britain’s Davis Cup tie against Turkey in July, and eight first-round losses at Wimbledon in the past, the world No. 166’s chances of gaining one of the three wildcards yet to be allocated in the men’s draw appear to be remote at best.
Two Russian players, Teimuraz Gabashvili (who defeated Andy Roddick in the third round at the French Open this year) and Andrey Kuznetsov, Japan's Kei Nishikori, and German Nicolas Kiefer are the other men’s players to have been awarded Wimbledon wildcards so far this year.
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