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Rediff.com  » Sports » Top seeds knuckle down for second week

Top seeds knuckle down for second week

By Marc Jones
June 27, 2005 14:35 IST
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Top seeds Roger Federer and Lindsay Davenport remain in the hunt for glory at the start of Wimbledon's second week, after watching several fancied players fall by the wayside.

Following rare failure in the opening two Grand Slams of the year, only a third successive Wimbledon title will be good enough for Swiss Federer who comes up against Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero on Monday.

"Only the win would be satisfying this year, with the misses I've had at the French and Australian Open... I'd be be very disappointed," he said.

Davenport, winner in 1999, takes on former world number one Kim Clijsters in an appetising re-run of their French Open meeting.

Spring time in Paris will still be fresh in the memory for Davenport, who staged an amazing recovery to come from a set and 3-1 down to beat the 22-year-old Belgian for the first time in seven meetings.

The American knows she faces her first serious test of the tournament.

"Hopefully the grass gives me an advantage. I'm not really sure though, she's a tough player," Davenport said.

Clijsters's former fiance, 2002 winner Lleyton Hewitt, must overcome American Taylor Dent in his bid for a quarter-final place.

Having lost to Dent once already this year in Adelaide, Australian Hewitt knows this is a potential banana skin.

"He's got a great serve-volley game. He's going to keep coming at me all day...I'm going to have to work hard to get over the line."

Still striving for his first Wimbledon title, number two seed Andy Roddick takes on Argentine Guillermo Coria while Mario Ancic, semi-finalist last year and seeded 10 this time around, plays in-form Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.

Russian women abound in the second week. Defending champion Maria Sharapova takes on Natalie Dechy, Svetlana Kuznetzova and Nadia Petrova are both in action and sixth seed Elena Dementieva faces willowy ninth seed Anastasia Myskina.

Twice champion Venus Williams will be looking to restore family pride when she meets her sister Serena's conqueror, US compatriot Jill Craybas.

With Serena, also twice a former winner, and French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne out, the women's draw looks wide open.

 

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Marc Jones
Source: REUTERS
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