A Quick Look at the Wimbledon Ladies Tennis Draw

This entry is part of the Wimbledon’s Grass is Always Greener series. Please click here to read the rest of On the Baseline’s exclusive series!

The draw for this week’s Championships at Wimbledon has been announced and posted on the official Wimbledon website. Most of the top players will have easy opening rounds, but Kim Clijsters, Elena Dementieva, and Svetlana Kuznetsova are facing tough competitors in their first round tennis matches. Be sure to come back to On the Baseline in the next two days for a preview of the Championships and a look at the favorites for the title.

(1) Amelie Mauresmo
Best Finish: Semifinal (2002, 2004, 2005)
Last Year’s Results: Semifinal (lost to Lindsay Davenport)
First Round: Ivana Abramovic (First meeting)
Could Face: (29) Tatiana Golovin in the 3rd round, (14) Dinara Safina or (19) Ana Ivanovic in the 4th round, and (7) Venus Williams in the quarterfinals

(2) Kim Clijsters
Best Finish: Semifinal (2003)
Last Year’s Results: 4th Round (lost to Lindsay Davenport)
First Round: Vera Zvonareva (Clijsters leads 1-0)
Could Face: (13) Anna-Lena Groenefeld or (17) Maria Kirilenko in the 4th round, and (5) Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals

(3) Justine Henin-Hardenne
Best Finish: Final (2001)
Last Year’s Results: 1st Round (lost to Eleni Daniilidou)
First Round: Meng Yuan (First meeting)
Could Face: (30) Anna Chakvetadze in the 3rd round, (15) Daniela Hantuchova in the 4th round, and (8) Patty Schnyder or (12) Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals

(4) Maria Sharapova
Best Finish: Champion (2004)
Last Year’s Results: Semifinal (lost to Venus Williams)
First Round: Anna Smashnova (Sharapova leads 1-0)
Could Face: (16) Flavia Pennetta or (20) Shahar Peer in the 4th round, and (7) Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals

(5) Svetlana Kuznetsova
Best Finish: Quarterfinal (2002, 2005)
Last Year’s Results: Quarterfinal (lost to Lindsay Davenport)
First Round: Romina Oprandi (Kuznetsova leads 1-0)
Could Face: (10) Nicole Vaidisova in the 4th round, and (2) Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals

(6) Venus Williams
Best Finish: Champion (2000, 2001, 2005)
Last Year’s Results: Champion (defeated Lindsay Davenport)
First Round: Bethanie Mattek (First meeting)
Could Face: (26) Jelena Jankovic in the 3rd round, (9) Anastasia Myskina in the 4th round, and (1) Amelie Mauresmo or (16) Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals

(7) Elena Dementieva
Best Finish: 4th Round (2002, 2003, 2005)
Last Year’s Results: 4th Round (lost to Anastasia Myskina)
First Round: Sania Mirza (Dementieva leads 1-0)
Could Face: (11) Francesca Schiavone in the 4th round, and (4) Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals

(8) Patty Schnyder
Best Finish: 3rd Round (2001)
Last Year’s Results: 1st Round (lost to Antonella Serra Zanetti)
First Round: Antonella Serra Zanetti (Serra Zanetti leads 1-0; knocked Schnyder out in the first round of Wimbledon in 2005)
Could Face: (12) Martina Hingis in the 4th round, and (3) Justine Henin-Hardenne in the quarterfinals

(9) Anastasia Myskina
Best Finish: Quarterfinal (2005)
Last Year’s Results: Quarterfinal (lost to Amelie Mauresmo)
First Round: Cara Black
Could Face: (23) Anabel Medina Garrigues in the 3rd round, (7) Venus Williams in the 4th round, and (1) Amelie Mauresmo in the quarterfinals

(10) Nicole Vaidisova
Best Finish: 3rd Round (2005)
Last Year’s Results: 3rd Round (lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova)
First Round: Klara Koukalova (tied at 1-1)
Could Face: (5) Svetlana Kuznetsova in the 4th round, and (2) Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals

(11) Francesca Schiavone
Best Finish: 3rd Round (2003)
Last Year’s Results: 1st Round (lost to Kristina Brandi)
First Round: Melanie South (First meeting)
Could Face: (3) Nathalie Dechy in the 3rd round, (7) Elena Dementieva in the 4th round, and (4) Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals

(12) Martina Hingis
Best Finish: Champion (1997)
Last Year’s Results: Did Not Play
First Round: Olga Savchuk (First meeting)
Could Face: (18) Ai Sugiyama in the 3rd round, (8) Patty Schnyder in the 4th round, and (3) Justine Henin-Hardenne in the quarterfinals

(13) Anna-Lena Groenefeld
Best Finish: 1st Round (2004, 2005)
Last Year’s Results: 1st Round (lost to Jane O’Donoghue)
First Round: Tzvetana Pironkova (First meeting)
Could Face: (17) Maria Kirilenko in the 3rd round, (2) Kim Clijsters in the 4th round, and (5) Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals

(14) Dinara Safina
Best Finish: 3rd Round (2005)
Last Year’s Results: 3rd Round (lost to Lindsay Davenport)
First Round: Jill Craybas (Safina leads 2-0)
Could Face: (19) Ana Ivanovic in the 3rd round, (1) Amelie Mauresmo in the 4th round, and (6) Venus Williams in the quarterfinals

(15) Daniela Hantuchova
Best Finish: Quarterfinal (2002)
Last Year’s Results: 3rd Round (Lost to Venus Williams)
First Round: Maria Elena Camerin (Hantuchova leads 1-0)
Could Face: (3) Justine Henin-Hardenne in the 4th round, and (8) Patty Schnyder or (12) Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals

You can see the entire Championships at Wimbledon 2006 Ladies Singles Draw by clicking here.

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