=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Major)
================= http://www.wimbledon.org/
Contents
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1. Photos
2. First-round draw
3. Daniela Hantuchová preview
4. Order of play for Monday

Master-thread for my Wimbledon 2009 reports:
http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=382860

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1. Photos
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The following links will be useful throughout the tournament, but I shall post
them only once:

Galleries of many players:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/gallery?cap=1&pg=1 (latest 200 only)
http://www.tennis.com/photogallery/photogallery.aspx?pgid=1
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/photos.html
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/photos/

Where to search for specific players:
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/players/
http://news.yahoo.com/
http://www.fotosports.com/
Getty Images

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2. First-round draw
-------------------

The players on the left are the ones I want to win.


First quarter (Nicole Vaidišová, Anna Chakvetadze)
-------------

* DINARA SAFINA [1] v Lourdes Domínguez Lino (Safina is Nicole's prey)
* Nicole Vaidišová [EF] v Rossana de los Ríos (POJDME NICOLE!!)
* Alyona Bondarenko v Elena Baltacha [WC] (my loyalty is to Alyona)
* Kirsten Flipkens v ÁGNES SZÁVAY [30] (I think I still prefer Kirsten, although
Ágnes has been growing on me)

* Melinda Czink v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [17] (anyone but Mauresmo)
* Aiko Nakamura [Q,S] v Katarina Srebotnik (my loyalty is to Aiko)
* Mariya Koryttseva v Vania King
* FLAVIA PENNETTA [15,DF] v Nuria Llagostera Vives (forza Flavia!)

* CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [9] v Kimiko Date Krumm [WC] (my loyalty is to Caroline)
* Maria Kirilenko [DF] v Petra Kvitová (davai Maria!)
* Alberta Brianti [Q] v Tathiana Garbin
* Marta Domachowska v ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES [20] (my loyalty is to Marta)

* ANNA CHAKVETADZE [32,EF] v Sabine Lisicki [DF] (my loyalty is to ANNA)
* Patricia Mayr v Anne Keothavong
* Pauline Parmentier v Akgul Amanmuradova
* Akiko Morigami [S] v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [5] (ganbatte Akiko!)


Second quarter (Jelena Dokic)
--------------

* Stefanie Vögele v VENUS WILLIAMS [3] (hopp Stefanie!)
* Anastasija Sevastova [Q] v Kateryna Bondarenko
* Ekaterina Makarova v Barbora Záhlavová Strýcová
* Carla Suárez Navarro v KAIA KANEPI [25]

* SAMANTHA STOSUR [18] v Bethanie Mattek-Sands
* Jelena Dokic [EF] v Tatjana Malek [Q] (my loyalty is to JELENA)
* Sara Errani v Stéphanie Dubois
* ANA IVANOVIC [13,DF] v Lucie Hradecká [S] (my loyalty is to Ana)

* María José Martínez Sánchez v AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [11]
* Peng,Shuai [S] v Alexa Glatch [WC] (jia you Shuai!)
* Olga Govortsova v Tatiana Perebiynis (tough choice, but I think I prefer Olga)
* LI,NA [19] v Galina Voskoboeva

* SYBILLE BAMMER [29] v Melanie Oudin [Q]
* Yaroslava Shvedova v Monica Niculescu [S] (my Reason says Monica, but my
Passion says Yaroslava)
* Iveta Benešová v Katie O'Brien [WC] (my loyalty is to Iveta)
* Julia Görges v JELENA JANKOVIC [6] (komm jetzt Julia!)


Third quarter (Vera Zvonarëva)
-------------

* VERA ZVONARËVA [7,EF] v Georgie Stoop [WC] (DAVAI VERA!!)
* Mathilde Johansson v Melanie South [WC] (allez Mathilde!)
* Tsvetana Pironkova [DF] v Jill Craybas (aide Tsvetana!)
* Tamira Paszek v VIRGINIE RAZZANO [26] (gemma Tamira!)

* ALEKSANDRA WOZNIAK [23] v Francesca Schiavone
* Klára Zakopalová [Q] v Michelle Larcher de Brito [WC] (my loyalty is to Klára)
* Timea Bacsinszky v Vesna Manasieva [Q] (hopp Timea!)
* MARION BARTOLI [12,DF,S] v Chan,Yung-Jan

* DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [14] v Julie Coin (podme Domi!)
* Urszula Radwanska v Maša Zec Peškiric (dawaj Urszula!)
* Elena Vesnina v Yanina Wickmayer (my loyalty is to Elena)
* ALIZÉ CORNET [22] v Vera Dushevina (allez Alizé!)

* Sesil Karatantcheva [Q] v ALISA KLEYBANOVA [27]
* Karolina Šprem [DF] v Regina Kulikova [Q] (ajmo Karolina!)
* Aravane Rezaď v Ayumi Morita [S] (my loyalty is to Aravane)
* ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] v Alla Kudryavtseva (davai Elena!)


Fourth quarter (Sharapova, Hantuchová, Rybáriková, Šafárová)
--------------

* VICTORIA AZARENKA [8,DF] v Séverine Brémond Beltrame (my loyalty is to Queen
Victoria)
* Ioana Raluca Olaru v Nathalie Dechy (my loyalty is to Raluca)
* Sania Mirza [DF] v Anna-Lena Grönefeld (go Sania!)
* SORANA CÎRSTEA [28] v Edina Gallovits (hai Sorana!)

* MARIA SHARAPOVA [24,EF] v Viktoriya Kutuzova [Q] (DAVAI MARIA!!)
* Gisela Dulko [DF] v Stéphanie Foretz (Ąvamos Gisela!)
* Maria Elena Camerin v Shahar Pe'er (my loyalty is to Maria Elena)
* NADIA PETROVA [10] v Anastasiya Yakimova

* ZHENG,JIE [16] v Kristina Barrois (jia you Jie!)
* Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v Laura Robson [WC] (my loyalty is to DANIELA)
* Arantxa Parra Santonja [Q,S] v Tamarine Tanasugarn (Ąvamos Arantxa!)
* Ai Sugiyama v PATTY SCHNYDER [21]

* Petra Cetkovská v ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA [31] (pojdme Petra!)
* Magdaléna Rybáriková [EF] v Roberta Vinci (my loyalty is to MAGDA)
* Lucie Šafárová [EF] v Jarmila Groth (POJDME LUCIE!!)
* SERENA WILLIAMS [2] v Neuza Silva [Q]

-----------------------------
3. Daniela Hantuchová preview
-----------------------------

Daniela has yet to regain the kind of form she was enjoying prior to a ten-week
lay-off with a stress-fracture in her right heel from April to June 2008, but
she has a respectable win/loss record of 21:15 for 2009 so far. Still, it feels
strange to see her unseeded (she just went back up to #32 a week too late to be
seeded at Wimbledon, and would have been displaced by Maria Sharapova's
elevation to 24th seed anyway) after all the time she has spent in the top 20
and top 10 in recent years.

Daniela had what the French might call "une problčme Cornet" earlier in the
year: after losing to Alizé Cornet in the third round of the Australian Open,
she also lost to her in the second round of Paris.

Daniela reached the third round of Dubai, but lost 6-2 1-6 6-2 to #58-ranked
Virginie Razzano: her first-round opponent here. She then reached the fourth
round of Indian Wells, but suffered a disappointing 6-3 6-2 loss to #29 Sybille
Bammer, and was thrashed 6-3 6-1 by Anna Chakvetadze - who's having a much worse
year than Daniela - in the second round of Miami.

Daniela reached the quarter-finals of Ponte Vedra Beach - only to be thrashed
6-2 6-2 by #12-ranked eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki. She then scored a
6-7 6-3 6-4 revenge-win over Cornet in Fed Cup, then thrashed her 6-3 6-1 in the
first round of Stuttgart before losing 6-4 6-2 to world #1 Dinara Safina in the
second round.

At Rome, she beat Vera Dushevina 6-4 6-1, only to lose 6-3 6-3 to #8 Svetlana
Kuznetsova in the second round. At Madrid, she beat Gisela Dulko 7-6 6-1 - a
fine win on clay - but lost 7-5 6-2 to Jelena Jankovic in the second round.

At Warsaw, Daniela battled past claycourt-specialist Nuria Llagostera Vives 3-6
6-3 6-3, thrashed #81 Urszula Radwanska 6-3 6-1, then came through another tough
battle against #116 Klára Zakopalová 6-3 4-6 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.
There, she lost 6-4 6-7 6-1 to #201-ranked qualifier Alexandra Dulgheru, who
caused perhaps the biggest upset in tennis-history by winning the Premier
title!!

Daniela still doesn't seem to be as fit as she was before her big injury last
year, when she was one of the very fittest players on the Tour. To lose 6-1 in
the third set to Dulgheru seems to emphasise this.

Daniela succumbed to a very tough first-round draw at the French Open, losing
6-3 6-3 to #36 Virginie Razzano.

But her return to grass was much more encouraging. Although I was disappointed
that she skipped Birmingham, she got two wins at 's-Hertogenbosch - #53 Roberta
Vinci 7-6 6-4 and #74 Kateryna Bondarenko 2-6 6-2 6-1, who are both good
grass-court players - before losing 1-6 6-4 6-3 to Majorless world #1 Dinara
Safina in the quarter-finals.

Daniela has an intriguing first-round showdown with 15-year-old Laura Robson,
who won the Wimbledon 2008 Girls' Singles.

She could then face Wimbledon 2008 semi-finalist Zheng,Jie in the second round.
If Magdaléna Rybáriková could beat Zheng at Birmingham, why not Daniela at
Wimbledon?

If the seeds hold after that, Daniela could face Patty Schnyder in the third
round and Serena Williams in the fourth round (as in 2007, when Serena suffered
a spasm-induced calf-strain but was saved by a rain-delay).

But Serena has been struggling with a knee-injury and poor form in recent
months, and also has a tricky draw, with dangerous Lucie Šafárová in her second
round, and Birmingham-champion Magdaléna Rybáriková in her third round - I hope
Lucie or Magda will come through instead!


First-round preview: Hantuchová v Robson
----------------------------------------

It's not what I was hoping for either of them, but I'm very excited that Daniela
gets to take on last year's Girls' Singles champion Laura Robson, who, at 15, is
the youngest player in the main draw of the Wimbledon Women's Singles since
14-year-old Martina Hingis in 1995.

It would certainly be humiliating were Daniela to lose. I already had a taste of
such humiliation when Romana Tabaková - of whom I'm a demi-fan - lost to Robson
in the semi-finals of the Girls' Singles last year. I thought Romana was heading
for the title after her impressive win over Polona Hercog in the quarter-finals,
but instead she fell to an embarrassing 6-2 7-5 loss to the precocious
14-year-old Robson, and unfairly copped a lot of flak for hitting an underarm
ace (a perfectly legitimate shot) at 2-6 *3-4 (Ad Romana).

Robson then beat Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6-3 3-6 6-1 in the Girls' Singles
final.

Still only 14, Robson made her professional début at ITF Limoges in September
2008, beating #873 Alice Balducci 6-7 7-5 6-4, but retiring in the second round.

She followed that up by reaching the semi-finals of ITF Shrewsbury, beating
#128-ranked Wimbledon 2007 Girls' Singles champion Urszula Radwanska 6-3 6-3!
She beat #123 Tzipora Obziler also 6-3 6-3, but lost 6-2 3-6 6-0 to #106 Maret
Ani.

Robson made her WTA Tour début at Luxembourg 2008, losing 1-6 6-2 6-3 to world
#42 Iveta Benešová, and learning the valuable lesson that adults fight back.

She won her first professional title at ITF Sunderland without beating anyone
higher than #461, beating #1052 Samantha Vickers 6-3 6-2 in the final.

Robson reached the Australian Open 2009 Girls' Singles final, beating
Lertcheewakarn again in the semi-finals, but losing 6-3 6-1 to Ksenia Pervak,
who was already a seasoned pro at 17, and was only playing the juniors to
justify her trip to Australia after she lost early in the main event.

Robson did not play between the Australian Open and the week before the French
Open, as she was suffering from shin-splints due to growing too quickly, and
also studying for her GCSEs.

Although Robson inherited the junior world #1 ranking from Lertcheewakarn during
her absence, she didn't play like it when she came back. She lost 6-4 6-0 to
Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals of a junior-tournament at Milan, then lost
in the second round of the French Open Girls' Singles: 7-6 1-6 6-3 to Sandra
Zaniewska. But clay is Robson's least-favourite surface, as she doesn't like
what it does to her socks.

Robson has prepared for Wimbledon by playing a couple of exhibition-tournaments
on grass. At Nottingham, she played three matches against world #169 Olga
Savchuk, winning the middle one 7-6 1-6 [17/15], but losing the other two. At
Liverpool, she reached the final with wins over a couple of unknown British
girls and world #288 Tamaryn Hendler (7-6 7-6), but lost 6-4 2-6 [10/6] to #91
Michelle Larcher de Brito.

Ever since Robson won the Girls' Singles last year, I'd been hoping she would
get a wild card into the 2009 Women's Singles (it was only recently upgraded
from qualifying to main draw, as the LTA used their "exceptional circumstances"
clause to override Robson's WTA ranking: currently #488, which is way below
their cut-off point of #250), and was fascinated to see whom she would draw.

I was hoping that Robson would get a winnable match against someone I don't much
care for, and was kind of scared she'd get a member of my Eternal Fanship, all
of whom are currently struggling with poor form or injuries (except Magdaléna
Rybáriková, who sensationally won Birmingham).

Obviously, Daniela and Robson have never met before. I fancy Daniela's chances
after her good run at 's-Hertogenbosch. Daniela has an impressive career
grass-court record, is vastly more experienced than Robson, and is one of the
most flairsomely talented players in tennis-history. All this should be too much
for Robson, who has lost a lot of ground with her absence between January and
May.

Daniela may have to deal with a partisan crowd, as there has been a lot of hype
about Robson in the British media since she won the Girls' Singles. But
Daniela's no stranger to playing home-players at the Majors this year, having
drawn Casey Dell'Acqua at the Australian Open and Virginie Razzano at the French
Open. She only needs to draw an American in the first round of the US Open to
complete the set!

I can't wait to see this match on BBC television! The atmosphere is going to be
electric!

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4. Order of play for Monday
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Court 2 (start 12:00 BST = 11:00 GMT)
WS 1r: Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v Laura Robson [WC]
MS 1r: Andrey Golubev v JO-WILFRIED TSONGA [9]
WS 1r: ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] v Alla Kudryavtseva
MS 1r: Michaël Llodra v Joshua Goodall [WC]

Full order of play:
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu