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Wimbledon draw throws up possible all-Taiwan match

Friday's draw for this week's Wimbledon Championships threw up the intriguing possibility of an all-Taiwanese clash in round two of the women's singles.

But before that can happen, Chan Yung-jan has the daunting prospect of meeting Dinara Safina in the first round, while Hsieh Su-wei takes on France’s Stephanie Cohen-Aloro. Should both Taiwanese win they are drawn to play each other next.

It is the second successive year that Chan has had a tough first round draw, having lost in straight sets to Maria Sharapova last year. The 18-year-old has been in reasonable form of late, reaching the semi-finals in Strasbourg last month, but No. 9 seed Safina has been on a hot streak, dumping defending champion Sharapova out of the French Open earlier this month on her way to the final where she lost to Ana Ivanovic.

Hsieh has the less daunting prospect of facing world No. 92 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro, who has lost in the first round on both her previous appearances at the All England Club in 2003 and 2004.

Hsieh has had a good year so far, having reached the fourth round of the Australian Open in January, reaching her highest-ever ranking of 90th the following month and winning a tournament in Incheon, South Korea, last month.

In the men’s singles, Taiwan’s sole representative Lu Yen-hsun faces what could be a close encounter with France’s Florent Serra, who is ranked only three places below the Taiwanese at 76th. The two will be playing each other for the first time in a top-tier event.

In the women’s doubles, No. 4 seeds Chan and Chuang Chia-jung open with a match against Darya Kustova and Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan.

Hsieh has teamed up with Mashona Washington of the US and they are drawn to meet Russia’s Yaroslava Shvedova and Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand in the first round.
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