- Associated Press - Friday, May 20, 2011

PARIS (AP) - Francesca Schiavone will begin defense of her French Open title by facing surprise 2009 U.S. Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin.

Schiavone, the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam tournament, is seeded fifth. Friday’s draw set up a possible quarterfinal against No. 3 Vera Zvonareva.

Other potential quarterfinals are No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki against 2010 runner-up Sam Stosur, four-time major champion Kim Clijsters against three-time major winner Maria Sharapova, and No. 4 Victoria Azarenka against No. 6 Li Na.

Clijsters is at the French Open for the first time since 2006. Her first-round opponent is 100th-ranked Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus. Wozniacki opens against 40-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan.

Play starts Sunday.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide