Last year’s Wimbledon champion Venus Williams will officially start play on Tuesday with her opening match against Stefanie Voegele on Centre Court.
World number one Dinara Safina, 2009 Roland Garros champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, Jelena Jankovic and 2006 Wimbledon winner Amelie Mauresmo are also set to play their opening matches.
OTB’s Can’t Miss Matches of the Day
Samantha Stosur (AUS)[18] v. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)
Serve and volleying served up with a dish of fashion. What more can you ask for in a match?
Venus Williams (USA)[3] v. Stefanie Voegele (SUI)
Five-time champion Venus Williams has said that her favorite part of Wimbledon tradition is opening play on the second day of the Championships. Look for her to signal her reemergence this year with a solid, straight sets win.
Amelie Mauresmo (FRA)[17] v. Melinda Czink (HUN)
This is a must-win match for Mauresmo. Another first round upset at a major could be followed by a few not-so-subtle hints at retirement.
Jennifer Talks about a Comeback
Jennifer Capriati has not played on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour since 2003.
While taking part in a special Wimbledon event at Rockefeller Center presented by HSBC, Capriati talked to TennisWeek.com about her future plans.
“I’m still struggling with some injuries and health issues so I won’t say yes or no if there’s going to be a possibility of coming back,” Capriati said.
“But I’m still young enough that maybe I can do it. It just depends. It’s very high level — especially nowadays — the level is so high and so difficult in terms of what you have to put your body through. It’s difficult. It just depends on, you know, if I’m still ready to do that for a few more years.”
The Grunt’s the Thing
Michelle Larcher de Brito’s grunting has received an amazing share of media coverage over the past several weeks.
After playing a quieter–and successful—opening round match on Monday, Larcher de Brito downplayed the rumors that she had given her an ultimatum about a potential grunting penalty.
“Nobody told me anything, ’cause I don’t think it’s necessary for anybody tell me anything ’cause it’s part of my game,” Larcher de Brito said after beating Klara Zakopalova. “It’s something I do.”
Enter OTB’s Pick the Winner’s Contest
How well do you know tennis? Do you think you can pick the winner of Tuesday’s featured match? Guess correctly and you might be one of the three lucky people chosen to win a pair of Drymax tennis socks!
To enter, simply select your pick for the winner of Tuesday’s match between Samantha Stosur (AUS)[18] and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA). All entries must be received by 7:00 AM ET on Tuesday. Only one entry per person.
Entry for today’s match has ended.
ESPN2 and ESPN360.com Schedule for Tuesday
Early Round Day 2 – ESPN2 – 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM (LIVE)
Early Round Coverage Day 2 – ESPN360.com – 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Watch Live Online)
I have never really been into tennis but I got curious about it after seeing this: http://www.newsy.com/videos/no_more_grunt_work
Apparently, Wimbledon will not be tolerating any noise from the ladies this year, as grunting while playing can result in a fine. I didn’t think something like that could be a problem, but it is considered an advantage, crazy…