bluenose_72 198 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 British number one Andy Murray will meet veteran Frenchman Fabrice Santoro in the first round at Wimbledon. Murray, the 12th seed, is in the same half of the draw as world number two Rafael Nadal. Top seed Roger Federer, seeking a sixth straight title, cannot meet Nadal until the final but could face world number three Novak Djokovic in the last four. Federer begins his title defence against Dominik Hrbaty, while Nadal faces qualifier Andreas Beck. Australian Open champion Djokovic is up against Germany's Michael Berrer. Two-times finalist Andy Roddick, who begins his campaign against Eduardo Schwank, is a potential semi-final opponent for Nadal. The Spaniard, fresh from winning his first grass-court title at Queen's, has a potentially difficult second-round match against either rising Latvian star Ernests Gulbis or big-serving American John Isner. Murray has faced 35-year-old Santoro once before, winning 6-4- 6-2 at the indoor Paris Masters last year. After that win, Murray said: "Santoro is one of my favourite players to watch. I won't see a style like his for the rest of my career." Santoro, a doubles expert, has never got beyond the third round at Wimbledon in singles but his unconventional style has caused several top players problems in the past. He plays double-handed off both his forehand and backhand and is able to produce some dizzying spin. Should Murray get the better of the wily Santoro, former semi-finalist Xavier Malisse could be waiting in the second round. The Belgian has been handed a wildcard this year after struggling with injuries. Murray is joined by three other British players in the men's draw. British number two Alex Bogdanovic will meet Italy's Simone Bolelli while fellow wildcard Jamie Baker is up against another Italian, Stefano Galvani. Surrey's Chris Eaton, who caused a shock by coming through qualifying, has been rewarded with a first-round match against Serbia's Boris Pashanski. As for the British women, 19-year-old Cavaday could hardly have been handed a more difficult draw than Williams. At 199, she is ranked 192 places below the American, who is a four-times champion at Wimbledon. Melanie South, who reached the quarter-finals at the DFS Classic, faces 28th seed Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine. Elsewhere in the women's draw, Serena Williams, winner in 2002 and 2003, has drawn Estonian Kaia Kanepi and could meet 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo in the third round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfc_no1fan 13 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 1 set and he'll start swearing 2 games and he'll have an injury 3 games and he will be out Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewbacca 8 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Does this mean Jamie Murray never got a wildcard then? Thats pretty poor, first British person to win something at Wimbledon for years and they can't even give the man a wildcard for the singles :angry2: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisVanDarche 23 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 I'd fancy Murray to come through that match without too much difficulty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
justiston 91 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Does this mean Jamie Murray never got a wildcard then? Thats pretty poor, first British person to win something at Wimbledon for years and they can't even give the man a wildcard for the singles :angry2: I dont think jamie murray ever plays singles, just sticks to doubles Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluenose_72 198 Posted June 20, 2008 Author Share Posted June 20, 2008 I'd fancy Murray to come through that match without too much difficulty. from what he has been saying, i think he is confident he can do well at wimbledon(well being QF). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zander222 0 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 1st round or two look comfortable, Gasquet in the 4th could be tricky despite his awful form the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_RFC87 761 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Shouldn't be a problem for Murray. Anything less than the QF is a failure imo. Better of being in Federer's half of the draw than Nadal atm imo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wienblue 26 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Santoro is "powder puff" and watched him at the French, he is useless ! Murray will beat him, but, the real test for him will not be until his 3rd/4th game, if he survives that long. When he plays one of the more classier players, he'll not be up to the mark - as usual and we'll get some more excuses ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_RFC87 761 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Santoro is "powder puff" and watched him at the French, he is useless ! Murray will beat him, but, the real test for him will not be until his 3rd/4th game, if he survives that long. When he plays one of the more classier players, he'll not be up to the mark - as usual and we'll get some more excuses ! What will be this year though? Groin, ankle, wrist, sore thumb, fatigue? The Murray roulette of injuries Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewbacca 8 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Does this mean Jamie Murray never got a wildcard then? Thats pretty poor, first British person to win something at Wimbledon for years and they can't even give the man a wildcard for the singles :angry2: I dont think jamie murray ever plays singles, just sticks to doubles He did apply for a singles wildcard though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muff 245 Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Santoro is past it but he'll still give Murray a decent game. He's a stuffy player and if Murray is not on top of his game then he could struggle. Santoro is a player who annoys the fuck out of his opponents. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekbear93 3 Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 andy murray just needs to grow up a liitle bit and be a bit more mature Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KERRZO 5 Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Santoro is comfortable on the grass but has been out of sorts most of the season and cant see Murray not winning this one in straight sets. Djokovic will win the title I think!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muff 245 Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Vamos Rafa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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