Tennis: Williams not favourite but still a threat

The young or those who are new to tennis might assume that the Venus Rosewater Dish, presented to the Wimbledon women's champion, is named after one of Wimbledon's most prolific winners.

Venus Williams has, after all, won the All England Club title five times. The silver trophy, however, dates back to 1886.

For the first time in a decade, Williams will not be among the favourites to win the big prize in a fortnight's time. The world No 33, who celebrated her 31st birthday yesterday, has been dogged by injury since last year's Wimbledon and has played in only two tournaments this year - most recently in Eastbourne, where she was beaten by Daniela Hantuchova.

Nevertheless, Williams was a name that many of this year's major contenders will have been hoping to avoid in yesterday's draw, given that her seeding at No 23 meant that she could face some of the big guns earlier in the competition.

The unlucky rivals proved to be Jelena Jankovic, who could meet Williams in the third round, and Vera Zvonareva, who could play her in the fourth. Williams' first-round opponent is Uzbekistan's Akgul Amanmuradova, the world No 99, the winner to meet either Britain's Katie O'Brien or the veteran Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm.

When Venus does not win the title, it is usually Serena who does. The sisters have won the tournament nine times in the last 11 years. Maria Sharapova (2004) and Amelie Mauresmo (2006) are the only other champions in that period. The sisters have appeared in four all-Williams finals.

Serena, 29, has had an even tougher year than her sister, having returned to competition this week for the first time since claiming her fourth Wimbledon title last year. Within days of her victory over Zvonareva, the 13-times Grand Slam champion cut her foot on a piece of glass in a restaurant in Munich, severing a tendon.

Her recovery was put back three months ago when she was rushed to hospital to have a haematoma removed after a blood clot had travelled from a leg to her lungs.

Having dropped to No 26 in the world rankings, Serena is seeded No 8 this year. She is in the opposite half of the draw to Venus and faces France's Aravane Rezai in the first round. Li Na, who a fortnight ago became the first Asian to claim a Grand Slam singles title when she won the French Open, is a potential quarter-final opponent.

Sharapova is seen by many as the favourite to win and has a favourable draw. Caroline Wozniacki is seeded to meet her in the quarter-finals but the world No 1 has yet to win a Grand Slam title. Sharapova meets fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze, in the first round and could then play Britain's 17-year-old Laura Robson.

- INDEPENDENT