A fourth round encounter with Maria Sharapova could be in the cards for top seed Serena Williams as the draws for the 2010 Wimbledon championships were released Friday.
Sharapova famously defeated Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final as a 17-year-old. Williams won her third Wimbledon title last year, defeating sister Venus in the singles final.
Williams opens with Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal while Sharapova plays Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine in the first round. Sharapova will likely have to get by Daniela Hantuchova in the third round before a potential fourth-rounder with Serena.
No. 6 seed and French Open finalist Sam Stosur and No. 3 seed Caroline Wozniacki and 2009 US Open finalist highlight the second quarter of the draw – to potentially play Serena in the semifinals.
Kim Cljisters, seeded No. 8 and playing Wimbledon for the first time since 2006, could face fellow Belgian Justine Henin in the round of 16. Henin, seeded No. 17, potentially would have to get passed No. 12 seed Nadia Petrova in the third round. No. 4 seed Jelena Jankovic is the highest seed in the quarter. The Serbian former world No. 1 has a curious opening round match against promising British teenage Laura Robson.
Clijsters, who last year played in an exhibition test match for Wimbledon’s retractable roof against Steffi Graf last year, opens against Italy’s Maria Elena Camerin.
The bottom quarter of the draw is highlighted by Venus Williams, the No. 2 seed, who opens against Rossana de los Rios of Paraguay, who like Clijsters, is one of the few mothers competing on the WTA Tour. Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, unseeded, takes on Shahar Peer of Israel, seeded No. 13, in an interesting first-round match. Francesca Schiavone, the No. 5 seed and reigning French Open champion, opens against Vera Dushevina of Russia and is seeded to potentially face Venus Williams in the quarterfinals.
For the full women’s draw, go to www.Wimbledon.org.