By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON, June 21 - Roger Federer may well feel like
an imposter when he steps out to open Centre Court proceedings
at Wimbledon on Monday.
The 27-year-old Swiss has been given the honour usually
bestowed on a reigning champion after his great rival and title
holder Rafael Nadal pulled out of the grasscourt major with a
knee injury before a ball had even been struck.
That left officials in no doubt about who should step in for
the Spaniard.
"I shouldn't deserve it this year because Rafa deserves it
but am obviously very honoured that the championships chose me
again to open the tournament," Federer, whose five-year
Wimbledon reign was ended by Nadal in a spectacular five-set
final last year, told Reuters.
The newly-crowned French Open champion, who became only the
sixth man to complete a career grand slam, will begin his
pursuit of a record 15th grand slam title against the only Asian
man in the draw, Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan.
While British fans have already started anticipating a
Federer-Andy Murray final on July 5, they will have to wait
until Tuesday to catch a first glimpse of the third seed.
Instead, local supporters can exercise their vocal chords by
cheering on 15-year-old grand slam debutante Laura Robson, who
earned a wildcard thanks to her run to the junior title 12
months ago.
She and her opponent Daniela Hantuchova have been given the
honour of contesting the first ever match on the new
4,000-seater Court Two.
QUICK WORKOUT
Should Robson need any tips on how to deal with the pressure
at such a young age, she could ask Serena Williams who has been
making headline news since her teenage years.
U.S. and Australian Open champion Williams, who has
contested three of the last four grand slam finals, should enjoy
a quick workout against Portuguese qualifier Neuza Silva.
The only real threat lurking in Williams's quarter of the
draw is Maria Sharapova, who has been bumped up to 24th seed
despite being ranked 60th following a nine-month injury layoff.
The Russian showed that her patched up shoulder could take
the strain after she survived four successive three-setters to
reach the last eight on her least favourite surface in Paris.
Now she is eager to do well on the lush green turf, where
she won the first of her three grand slam titles in 2004, and
will begin her account against Ukrainian Viktoriya Kutuzova.
"When I look back to where I was say, 10 or 11 months ago,
or even three months ago ... to be here I guess is already an
accomplishment in itself," the 22-year-old told reporters.
Like Sharapova, Serb Novak Djokovic also lost in the second
round here 12 months ago and will be looking for a marked
improvement this year after his runner-up finish in Halle.
The fourth seed will open against France's Julien Benneteau.
(Editing by Sonia Oxley; To comment on this story:
sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)