Sun faces Bouzkova at Wimbledon, Sabalenka could be next

Lulu Sun has avoided a seed, but was a given tricky draw for Wimbledon.

The Kiwi No 1 will play against Marie Bouzkova from the Czech Republic in the first round 

If she gets through that, she’s likely to meet world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka next.

Sun is 46 in the world rankings, with Bouzkova one spot below her, so it should be a tight match.

As is also the case with Sun, Bouzkova is a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist, getting to the last eight in 2022, before losing to Ons Jabeur.

Bouzkova also played at Eastbourne this week, and like Sun, lost to Anna Blinkova, with her defeat to the Russian coming in the first round, while Blinkova defeated Sun in a second round match.

The 26-year-old Bouzkova has had a mixed season and has defeated just one player ranked inside the top 50 since the Australian Open.

Sun comes to Wimbledon fresh from defeating world No 16 Daria Kasatkina at Eastbourne, as well as having that loss to Blinkova.

The match between Sun and Bouzkova will be played on Monday. This will be the first match against each other.

Potentially waiting in the wings, is a clash with Sabalenka, who will play against the Canadian qualifier, Carson Branstine in the first round.

Meanwhile, Sun will partner with Canadian Leylah Fernandez, the former US Open singles finalist, in the women’s doubles. They face sixth seeds Asia Muhammad (USA) and Demi Schuurs (Netherlands) in the first round.

Erin Routliffe and Gaby Dabrowski are the second seeds in the women’s doubles draw and take on the Chinese duo of Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai in their first match.

Michael Venus and Nikola Mektic from Croatia will play the British wildcard recipients Lui Maxted and Connor Thompson in the opening round.