Cobb County’s Melanie Oudin and Atlanta’s Donald Young were two of several players with Georgia ties who learned Friday who they will play in the first round at Wimbledon. At least one player, John Isner, could have an intriguing second-round opponent.
The first round begins June 25. The women’s singles final is set for July 7 and the men’s for July 8.
Oudin will face Hungary’s Timea Babos at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The winner will face either Russia’s Nadia Petrova, the 20th seed, or Italy’s Maria Elena Camerin.
Babos, 19, will play in her first Wimbledon. She is ranked No. 69 in the WTA rankings. A right-handed player with a two-handed backhand, she won an event in Monterrey and advanced to the finals at Quanzhou.
Oudin, 20, reached Wimbledon’s fourth round in 2009. She is No. 122 in the WTA rankings and received a wild card into Wimbledon after defeating Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-2 in Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England, last week for her first WTA title. Oudin famously advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in 2009 when she was 17.
Jamie Lee Hampton, who trains at the Life Time Tennis Atlanta (formerly Racquet Club of the South) in Norcross, will face Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova, the 27th seed. This will be Hampton’s first Wimbledon appearance. The winner will face either England’s Heather Watson or Czech Republic’s Iveta Benesova.
French Open winner Maria Sharapova, the top seed and 2004 Wimbledon champ, will open against Anastasia Rodionova. Serena Williams, the sixth seed, will open against the Czech Republic’s Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. Venus Williams will play Russia’s Elena Vesnina.
Isner, a former Georgia standout, earned the 11th seed and will open against Colombia’s Alejandro Falla.
Isner, who will compete at the BB&T Atlanta Open at Atlantic Station next month, is having another solid year. He is ranked No. 10 and has reached the finals in Houston and Indian Wells, but hasn’t advanced past the second round in three Wimbledon appearances.
The winner will face either Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi or France’s Nicolas Mahut. Isner and Mahut have a history, playing the longest match in tennis history at the 2010 Wimbledon. Isner defated Mahut in a match that lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes and stretched over two days.
Young will open against Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny, the 26th seed. The 50th-ranked player in the world, Young hasn’t advanced past the first round in two previous appearances. The winner will face either Spain’s Inigo Cervantes or Italy’s Flavio Cipolla.
Defending champ Novak Djokovic earned the top seed and will face Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero, formerly the world’s No. 1 player, in the first round. He could face American Ryan Harrison, who will also compete at the BB&T Atlanta Open, in the second round. Second-seeded Rafael Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon champ, will open against Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci. Third-seeded Roger Federer, a six-time Wimbledon champion, will open against Spain’s Albert Ramos.
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