WIMBLEDON, England (AP) Two-time champion Serena Williams will play at
Wimbledon next week after struggling with an ankle strain since May.
Williams, who missed the French Open, will join the top 20-ranked women in
the Wimbledon draw. The All England Club's entry list, released Monday,
included the last six champions - Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Lindsay
Davenport and Maria Sharapova.
Davenport won in 1999, followed by Venus Williams in 2000 and '01 and Serena
Williams the next two years. Sharapova is the defending champion.
The seedings will be announced Wednesday, with the draw Thursday.
On the men's side, two-time defending champion Roger Federer was confirmed
along with 2002 winner Lleyton Hewitt, last year's finalist Andy Roddick and
1992 champion Andre Agassi.
French Open champion Rafael Nadal, who pulled out of the grass-court Ordina
Open in the Netherlands, was also on the list. American James Blake was
confirmed as a wild card.
Martina Navratilova was named in the women's doubles, paired with Anna-Lena
Groenefeld of Germany. The 48-year-old American, who lost a first round singles
match at the Ordina Open on Monday, played singles at last year's Wimbledon,
reaching the second round. Navratilova, a nine-time Wimbledon champion, was not
listed in the women's singles draw.
Among the men's alternates were Arnaud Clement of France, Gustavo Kuerten of
Brazil and Jeff Morrison and Justin Gimelstob of the United States.
The women's alternates included Jelena Dokic, who made Wimbledon history in
her debut in 1999 by upsetting No. 1 Martina Hingis in the first round;
Hewitt's sister, Jaslyn Hewitt; and Americans Lindsay Lee-Waters, Jamea
Jackson, Chanda Rubin, Shikha Uberoi, Carly Gullickson and Alexandra Mueller.
Former French Open champions Carlos Moya and Gaston Gaudio have withdrawn,
citing injuries.
American Mardy Fish (wrist) and Argentines Mariano Zabaleta (foot) and Juan
Ignacio Chela also pulled out. No reason was given for Chela's withdrawal.
Serbia-Montenegro's Janko Tipsarevic, Spain's Albert Montanes, Sweden's
Thomas Enqvist and the Czech Republic's Ivo Minar and Bohdan Ulihrach take
their places in the draw. Argentina's Edgardo Massa (shoulder) and Spain's
Albert Costa (knee) pulled out earlier.
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