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Venus Williams unseeded at Wimbledon for first time since 1997

By Michelle Kaufman, McClatchy Newspapers –

Venus Williams faces a tough road if she is to win a sixth Wimbledon title. The seedings were announced Wednesday for the tournament, which begins Monday, and five-time champion Williams is unseeded for the first time since her debut there in 1997.

Williams, who was the queen of the historic grass courts after reaching eight finals from 2000 to ‘09, slipped to No. 55 in the world rankings while battling an autoimmune disease. She has played just five tournaments this year, and a few weeks ago lost in the second round of the French Open.

Another big name left unseeded is Kim Clijsters. The four-time Grand Slam winner has been limited this year with ankle and hip injuries. Her ranking has dropped to No. 53. She made the semifinals of the Australian Open in January, but since then has played only in the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne and this week’s Unicef Open, where she reached the quarterfinal. She intends to retire after the U.S. Open.

The Wimbledon top seeds are defending champion Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova, fresh off a French Open victory. Both are atop the seedings for the first time. Rafael Nadal, who has won Wimbledon twice, is seeded No. 2, followed by six-time champion Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

On the women’s side, Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka is seeded No. 2, Agnieszka Radwanska is No. 3, defending champion Petra Kvitova is No. 4. Four-time champion Serena Williams, who lost in the first round of the French Open, is seeded sixth.

Roddick squeaks in: Andy Roddick is a three-time Wimbledon finalist and has been seeded at the All England Club for more than a decade. That streak almost came to an end this week. The big-serving American dropped to No. 33 in the rankings, and the seedings are usually reserved for the top 32. But Roddick moved up a place when No. 15 Gael Monfils withdrew with a knee injury, and Roddick’s history at Wimbledon earned him a little boost.

Roddick went 0-6 after beating Federer in March at the Sony Ericsson Open and finally snapped the losing spell Tuesday when opponent Sam Querrey withdrew from their match in Eastbourne, England, with a back injury. Roddick lost 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to Edouard Roger-Vasselin last week in the second round of the Wimbledon warmup at Queen’s Club, where he has won several titles.

“It wasn’t that bad. I served 80 percent and had 22 aces,” Roddick said. “It was better than what I have been doing.”

Last week, The Daily Mail (London) quoted Roddick as saying Wimbledon 2012 could be his last.

“Do I think this could be my last Wimbledon? Possibly. . . . But that’s so much of an unknown,” he said. He later said his comments were misinterpreted. “I didn’t really say anything. I mean, I’m not at the point where I’m going to deal in absolutes with my career. I’m not going to sit here and say, I’m going to play three more years. At this point anything is a possibility. I don’t think what was said and the way it has been interpreted is completely on the same page.”

Oudin comeback: Melanie Oudin, the surprise quarterfinalist at the 2009 U.S. Open who then plummeted to No. 370 in the world, came through qualifying and won eight matches to claim her first WTA Tour title at the Wimbledon tune-up event in Birmingham, England. She beat Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-2 in the final.

The victory earned the 20-year-old a wild card into the Wimbledon draw.

Oudin is the first player outside the top 200 to win a tour title since Clijsters came out of retirement to win the 2009 U.S. Open. Oudin left longtime coach Brian deVillers in Georgia last winter, trained at the USTA facility in Boca Raton for a few months, and then moved to New York, where she trains with USTA coaches, including Patrick McEnroe.

“It was like this came out of nowhere,” said Oudin, who didn’t expect to win her first title on grass. “I’d been working away for a long time, and I was waiting for something to happen and it didn’t. Until now, that is.”

John McEnroe said the change of scenery has done Oudin good. “It’s good she got away from distractions, and it’s nice to see her back on track,” McEnroe said Wednesday on an ESPN pre-Wimbledon conference call. “Her hard work paid off.”

Chris Evert, also commentating for ESPN, said she watched Oudin work out in Boca Raton and was struck by her determination. “Even when she was losing, she never lost that look in her eye,” Evert said.

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