Wimbledon women’s draw announced: Serena to play Larcher di Brito
Serena Williams will begin her Wimbledon title defence with a match against Portuguese teenager Michelle Larcher di Brito, while sister, and five-time winner at the All England Club, Venus takes on 92nd-ranked Rossana De Los Rios.
The third former champion in the draw, Maria Sharapova, has a potentially tricky first-round match up against 35th ranked Kateryna Bondarenko.
Kim Clijsters plays her first match in Wimbledon’s ladies singles against world No. 120 Maria Elena Camerin while fellow Belgian comeback queen Justine Henin faces Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova in her first match back at the All England Club in part two of her career.
British wildcard Laura Robson, who took the first set off Daniela Hantuchova in her Wimbledon main-draw debut in 2009, has drawn an even tougher first round opponent in world No. 4 Jelena Jankovic this year.
Two former world No. 1s currently struggling for form have had mixed luck with their opening match-ups with Ana Ivanovic facing a difficult first round match against 14th ranked Shahar Peer while Dinara Safina has had more luck in drawing 97th-ranked Anna-Lena Groenefeld first up.
French Open champion Francesca Schiavone kicks off her Wimbledon campaign with a match against world No. 47 Vera Dushevina, while Roland Garros runner-up Sam Stosur continues her quest for a Grand Slam title with an opening match against 79th-ranked Kaia Kanepi.
Third seed Caroline Wozniacki, defeated in her opening match of the Aegon International at Eastbourne this week, has drawn world No. 54 Tathiana Garbin in the first round, while world No. 39 Kimiko Date Krumm – who upset Safina in the first round at Roland Garros – takes on world No. 32 Alexandra Dulgheru.
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