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Both Womens Wimbledon Halves in Action Wednesday
Posted on June 28, 2006
LONDON, UK -- Six Top 10 stars and 1997 Wimbledon champion Martina Hingis take center stage on Wednesday. Here's a look at the key match-ups.
First round:
(1) Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) vs. (Q) Ivana Abramovic (CRO) -- First meeting
Abramovic plays the biggest match of her career against world No.1 Mauresmo. The 22-year-old Croat finally qualified for the main draw here after three consecutive tries. Mauresmo, on the other hand, has had lots of success on these lawns, having made the semifinals in her past three appearances. The Frenchwoman is coming off a disheartening loss to countrywoman Nathalie Dechy in her opening match at Eastbourne, so she might be extra-motivated to play a solid first match here.
(4) Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs. Anna Smashnova (ISR) -- Sharapova leads 1-0
Even though Sharapova is 10 years younger than Smashnova, she has the same amount of Tour titles (11). But her list of accomplishments at Wimbledon looks a lot different. In 2004, Sharapova became the second-youngest Wimbledon singles champion in the Open Era and last year followed that up with another run to the semis. Smashnova has not been nearly as successful here, falling in the first round the past five years. In their only meeting two years ago at Miami, Sharapova won in straight sets.
(6) Venus Williams (USA) vs. Bethanie Mattek (USA) -- First meeting
A giant gap in experience at the All-England Club separates the two players involved in the only all-American first round match-up. Williams is 42-6 lifetime at Wimbledon, winning three titles (2000, 2001, 2005) and reaching two other finals (2002, 2003), while Mattek is playing the main draw here for the first time. But Mattek has been making significant strides in the last year, reaching her first two Tour quarterfinals, including going one step further at Cincinnati last summer in reaching the semis.
(7) Elena Dementieva (RUS) vs. Sania Mirza (IND) -- Dementieva leads 1-0
In their only prior encounter, at Indian Wells earlier this year, Mirza pushed eventual runner-up Dementieva to three sets. She also had a solid third round finish on the grass courts of Birmingham two weeks ago. Dementieva reached the semis at 's-Hertogenbosch last week and squandered a match point against eventual champion Michaella Krajicek. She also had a frustrating loss in the fourth round here last year, squandering a 3-0 second set lead and holding two match points against countrywoman Anastasia Myskina.
Second round:
(2) Kim Clijsters (BEL) vs. Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR) -- First meeting
Clijsters managed to take down newly-crowned Birmingham champion Vera Zvonareva in straight sets on Tuesday and next faces the Ukraine's Kutuzova. The 17-year-old lost her opening match to a qualifier in Birmingham two weeks ago and has won only six Tour main draw matches this year. If Clijsters brings the game that helped her to the Eastbourne semifinals last week, she shouldn't have many problems.
(3) Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL) vs. Ekaterina Bychkova (RUS) -- First meeting
After plowing through Yuan Meng in the first round, Henin-Hardenne also appears to be the clear favorite in this second round match-up. Bychkova survived her Wimbledon main draw debut in three sets on Tuesday and is trying to make it to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career. Henin-Hardenne has every reason to be confident after winning the title in Eastbourne last week. But Bychkova has had success against the big names in Grand Slam action before, taking out Svetlana Kuznetsova in the opening round of her 2004 US Open title defense last summer.
(12) Martina Hingis (SUI) vs. Tathiana Garbin (ITA) -- Hingis leads 3-0
Former world No.1 Hingis has never had much trouble with Garbin in three career meetings. The Swiss has dropped no more than five games per match against the Italian and her recent form indicates that she might collect another quick victory on Wednesday. After notching her 20th career Wimbledon match win, Hingis looks poised in her quest for a second Wimbledon title. Garbin has been less fortunate here with six consecutive first round exits.
-- WTA
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