Elena Dementieva was handed one of the hardest first-round contestants she could get, Sania Mirza. Due to a slip in the rankings, the Indian wasn’t ranked high enough to be seeded, so she became an authentic clock-bomb as the draw was announced. Eventually, she was placed in the 63rd position right next to Elena Dementieva, sitting in the 64th position of the draw.
The number 7 seed Dementieva will then have her hands full in the first round and Mirza has already stated that she’s willing to make the Russina run for her money. Last year Mirza had a second round heart-breaking loss to Kuznetsova and she promises to give it all again this eyar, this time versus Dementieva.

“I hope to make it as memorable as my last year,” Mirza said.

But the Indian, who lost to Dementieva earlier this year in Indian Wells, also acknowledged that Dementieva isn’t just another player out there.

“Obviously this is a very tough first round and the problem with playing a top-10 player is that unless you play at your best, they have the capacity to humiliate you on court. She is one fo the hardest strikers of te ball that i have ever played against. I played a tight three-setter against her last time and I hope to give a good account myself this time”, Mirza added.

The previous, and so far lonely match before this Wimbledon clash, came in the 4th round of the Pacific Life Open when Dementieva posted a comebeack victory by the scores of 5-7, 6-4 and 6-4. The match featured intense rallies from the baseline with a huge battle of forehands eventually being claimed by Elena Dementieva.

Should Dementieva get past the phenomenal Mirza, Elena will get a showdown with either American veteran Meghann Shaughnessy or up-and-coming Alyona Bondarenko.

Looking even more ahead in the draw, and in case the seedings hold, Likhovtseva is the potencial opponent. For the 4th round the main contenders are Nathalie Dechy, fresh from her number one victory over Amelie Mauresmo in Eastbourne, and Francesca Schiavone, whose results on grass haven’t quite matched her real talent.

Should Elena advance beyong the 4th round, the giant killer Maria Sharapova will certainly be waiting and willing to beat whoever gets in the way of her quest for a second Wimbledon trophy.

In the doubles, Dementieva/Pennetta were named 8th in the seeding list and will play against the team composed by Schruff/Bammer.

Dementieva is scheduled for Wednesday after the traditional rainy clouds stopped play for most of the first day of The Championships.