LONDON, United Kingdom - Monday's first round action at The Championships features a clutch of former world No.1s and multiple Grand Slam champions… with some local interest thrown in for good measure.
Centre Court
[WC] Laura Robson (GBR #234) vs. [4] Jelena Jankovic (SRB #3)
H2H: First meeting
Grass W-L record (2010/career): Robson (3-2/3-3)…Jankovic (0-0/31-15)
Last year the schedulers exercised restraint when they put Robson's first round match against Daniela Hantuchova on an outside court. This time they've thrown caution to the wind: She might only be 16, but Robson has the hopes of a nation resting on her shoulders and if she's going to convert the junior title she won here two years ago to a senior win one day, she might as well start getting used to the big stage. As she showed with her fighting three set loss against Hantuchova, Robson can match it with the big girls stroke for stroke, and she is coming off her first ever Tour-level win two weeks ago at Birmingham. But resurgent Jankovic, who is back at No.3 this week for the first time since March last year, is the first Top 10 player she has encountered. Can the young Brit make the Serbian star rue her decision not to play a lead-up on grass?
Court 2
[5] Francesca Schiavone (ITA #7) vs. Vera Dushevina (RUS #56) - Dushevina leads 1-0
H2H: Dushevina leads 1-0
Grass W-L record (2010/career): Schiavone (0-1/23-23)…Dushevina (0-1/20-14)
Not since 2002 has a woman - Serena Williams - achieved the tricky Roland Garros-Wimbledon double, a feat managed by just seven different players on 11 occasions. On the face of it, surprise French Open champion Schiavone boasts the versatility to do well on grass - she reached the quarterfinals here last year, her best effort to date - though her serve in particular may lack the sting needed to see her through the fortnight. If her first round loss at Eastbourne means her post-Slam letdown out of the way, maybe she can make noise here too. But Dushevina is by no means an easy draw. As it happens, the Russian's win over Schiavone was on clay last year, but in 2005 she was runner-up at Eastbourne. And both of the Top 10 wins she's scored during her career have been on the green stuff.
Court TBC
[13] Shahar Peer (ISR #15) vs. Ana Ivanovic (SRB #45)
H2H: Peer leads 1-0
Grass W-L record (2010/career): Peer (0-1/10-10)…Ivanovic (1-1/19-10)
Ivanovic has never failed to reach at least the third round at Wimbledon, but the former world No.1 will have flinched when she saw the draw. Peer's win over the Serb was over three years ago, well before Ivanovic won the French Open, so it is pretty much irrelevant. More notable is the fact that aside from a first round exit at Eastbourne last week, Peer has reached at least the third round at every event she has played this season, setting a new Israeli ranking record of No.14 two weeks ago. With one of the best win-loss records on Tour this year, she's the one riding the wave of confidence. For her part, Ivanonic lost a tough tussle against Andrea Petkovic at 's-Hertogenbosch last week. Can she channel the vibe of her semifinal run here in 2007? She'll need to.
More to watch: Venus Williams opens her quest for a sixth singles title on Court No.1 against Rossana de los Rios. Kim Clijsters makes her return to The Championships on Court 2, Maria Elena Camerin being her opponent. No.12 seed Nadia Petrova is first up on Court 5 against Tatjana Malek while Justine Henin, the No.17 seed and returning to the All England Club for the first time since 2007, tackles Anastasija Sevastova on Court 12. Melanie Oudin, the No.33 seed, plays Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld on Court 18.
