Shahar served up tough draw

Pe’er will have to come through a tricky draw at Roland Garros if she is to reach the last 16 of the second Grand Slam event of 2011.

By ALLON SINAI
Shahar Peer 311 (photo credit: Reuters)
Shahar Peer 311
(photo credit: Reuters)
As if her recent form wasn’t bad enough, Shahar Pe’er will have to come through a tricky draw at Roland Garros if she is to reach the last 16 of the second Grand Slam event of 2011 for a second straight year.
The 24-year-old Israeli, ranked No. 20 in the world, will face Maria Jose Sanchez Martinez (87) in the first round in Paris on Sunday in what will be a second career meeting between the two, with Pe’er beating the Spaniard in straight sets in Dubai earlier this year.
Should Pe’er overcome Martinez Sanchez, which is no guarantee considering the Israeli is coming off a defeat to world No. 429 Casey Dellacque in the first round of the Brussels Open last week, she is set to face the winner of the first round match between Rebecca Marino (62) and Kateryna Bondarenko (113).
Standing between Pe’er and a place in the last 16 could well be Svetlana Kuznetsova (13), with world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki a possible opponent in the fourth round.
However, with her recent struggles on clay, Pe’er will be focused on taking one match at a time, hoping to grow in confidence as the tournament progresses.
Meanwhile, Dudi Sela will return to the world’s top-100 on Monday after claiming his second straight Challenger circuit title on Saturday, defeating Greg Jones of Australia 6-2, 6-1 in the final in Fergana, Uzbekistan.
Sela dropped just one set in his five matches in Uzbekistan, and after jumping 39 places to No. 108 in the world last week following his triumph in Busan, South Korea, he is set to break back into the top-100 this week.
With Sela forgoing the European clay-court season, Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich are the only other Israelis playing in Paris. The men’s doubles draw will be made on Monday.