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Wimbledon 2008 – round 1 pre-match analysis
The Crowd
Roar Guru
23rd June, 2008
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The Crowd
Roar Guru
23rd June, 2008
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Defending champion Venus Williams will raise the curtain to Wimbledon this year, with a first round match against Naomi Cavaday (from Great Britain).

She heads up the bottom half of the draw, along with Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic whilst French Open champion Ana Ivanovic – in her first grand slam as the number one seed – leads the top half of the women’s competition.

Thirty-two (32) women’s matches are scheduled for Day One, with players spanning from countries across the globe. Here’s hoping the weather will hold up as we get into an awesome two weeks of tennis. Happy viewing everyone!

Tania’s picks for Round One
6 – Serena Williams (USA) vs. Kaia Kanepi (EST)
This is the match of the round. Kaia Kanepi was a surprise quarter finalist at the French Open this year and she will be carrying that confidence into Wimbledon. However this is a tough ask – coming up against the ever powerful and intimidating Serena Williams. Serena bypassed any pre-tournament events and may be slow to start against the emerging Estonian; nevertheless she should get through quite comfortably.
Serena Williams in 2 sets

9 – Dinara Safina (RUS) vs. Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)
A loss in the final of the WTA Grass court tournament in Hertogenbosch overnight (to Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn) was unexpected for Dinara given her recent form. Whether this is a sign of fatigue or not, will be determined in her first round clash against Chan from Chinese Taipei. Encouragingly for Safina, she has a string of grass court matches under her belt.
Dinara Safina in 2 sets

7 – Venus Williams (USA) vs. Naomi Cavaday (GBR)
This is a great way to start off the 2008 proceedings, with the defending champion Williams up against local girl Naomi Cavaday. The British will have something to cheer about on Day One however it may be short-lived. Like her sister, Venus has opted to enter Wimbledon with no pre-tournament match practice however she will be keen to do well at her favoured event, particularly given the early exit at the French.
Venus Williams in 2 sets

12 – Patty Schnyder (SUI) vs. Casey Dellacqua (AUS)
Casey Dellacqua has had a great year to date, notably with her French Open Doubles runner-up trophy with partner Francesca Schiavone. This will be a challenging first round match for the Australian, with Patty Schnyder coming off a quarter-finals showing on clay just a few weeks earlier. Casey is much-improved and has a good chance here however she may find it difficult (both mentally and physically) to outplay the unpredictable Swiss.
Patty Schnyder in 3 sets

14 – Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) vs. Iveta Benesova (CZE)
Radwanska has had the perfect preparation coming into Wimbledon after a hard-fought victory over Petrova at Eastbourne. She has a potential fourth round clash with the inconsistent Kuznetsova; Agnieszka is the dark horse in the women’s draw and must fancy herself to move into the second week.
Agnieszka Radwanska in 2 sets

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25 – Lindsay Davenport (USA) vs. Renata Voracova (CZE)
This should be a stock standard match for Lindsay to ease herself into the tournament. With her veteran status nowadays and despite withdrawing from the Eastbourne event earlier this week, the former champion will be keen to bring on her game – as what may very well be one of the last times we see her at Wimbledon.
Lindsay Davenport in 2 sets

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