3 minute read
Ash Barty will open her Wimbledon bid with an emotional contest against Carla Suarez Navarro while Australia's men have been hit with some horror draws.
Top seed Ash Barty has been drawn in an emotional first-round encounter at Wimbledon against inspirational cancer survivor Carla Suarez Navarro.
Friday's draw at the All England Club was overshadowed by the dramatic late news that reigning ladies' champion Simona Halep has withdrawn from the grand slam tournament due to injury.
Romanian Halep was unable to recover sufficiently from a calf injury and will not be fit to defend the title she won when The Championships were last held in 2019.
So a new champion will be crowned with Australia's world No.1 Barty still the favourite to lift the title, according to British bookmakers, despite the recent hip injury woe which forced her to withdraw during the French Open.
The 32-year-old Spaniard Suarez Navarro, who retired last year and was diagnosed with early-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma, announced in April she'd been cured after treatment and her comeback has been one of the tour's most heartwarming stories.
If Barty wins, Suarez Navarro will have played her last match at Wimbledon, where she's reached the last-16 at Wimbledon three times.
It's a tricky draw for Barty, scheduled to play Russian Anna Blinkova or Hungarian Timea Babos in the second round, with a potentially dangerous outing against Sydney-born Brit Jo Konta, the 27th seed, in the third.
According to seedings, Barty would then play the new surprise French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova in the last-16, No.5 seed Bianca Andreescu in the quarters, Serena Williams in the semis and Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Men's champion Novak Djokovic will launch his defence when the tournament opens on Monday against British teenage wildcard Jack Draper.
The Serbian, on course for a calendar grand slam after his recent French Open win, will be spared the prospect of a potential quarter-final meeting with Roger Federer as they're on opposite sides of the draw.
It means the pair could meet in a repeat of their epic 2019 final but it will be a long road for 39-year-old Federer, who'll open up with a tough one against Adrian Mannarino.
It's an absolute minefield of a draw for the leading Australian men, though.
Alex de Minaur admits he hasn't been given much protection with his 15th seeding, with a potentially treacherous opener against one of the game's rising stars, 20-year-old American Sebastian Korda, son of former Australian Open champ Petr Korda.
"Obviously, Sebby's playing some unbelievable tennis, one of the guys of the future, and he's been playing great on grass," de Minaur told AAP.
"So, obviously it's not an ideal draw - but it works both ways," added the Sydneysider who knows he himself is a man to be avoided at the moment after he made it into his first grass-court final at the Eastbourne International on Friday.
One of the best contests of the round is a rematch between Nick Kyrgios, returning to action for the first time since February's Australian Open, and young French 21st seed Ugo Humbert.
The pair had a thrilling five-setter at Melbourne Park before Kyrgios prevailed 6-4 in the decider.
John Millman, the Aussie No.2, faces Spain's eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut, a semi-finalist in 2019, while Sydney's rising Alexei Popyrin faces evergreen Japanese star Kei Nishikori.
Jordan Thompson has his work cut out against Norwegian talent Casper Ruud, the 12th seed, while Chris O'Connell's reward for battling through qualifying is a meeting with the flamboyant 13th seed Gael Monfils.
WHO THE AUSSIES FACE IN THE FIRST ROUND AT WIMBLEDON (PREFIX DENOTES SEEDING):
Men's singles
Marc Polmans (qualifier) v Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE)
Chris O'Connell (qualifier) v 13-Gael Monfils (FRA)
15-Alex de Minaur v Sebastian Korda (USA)
James Duckworth v Radu Albot (MOL)
John Millman v 8-Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)
Alex Bolt (wildcard) v Filip Krajinovic (SRB)
Alexei Popyrin v Kei Nishikori (JPN)
Jordan Thompson v 12-Casper Ruud (NOR)
Nick Kyrgios v 21-Ugo Humbert (FRA)
Women's singles
1-Ash Barty v Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP)
Ajla Tomljanovic v Greet Minnen (BEL)
Samantha Stosur v Shelby Rogers (USA)
Ellen Perez (qualifier) v Clara Burel (FRA)
