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Wildcard Will Turn Heads, But Sharapova Looks Solid For US Open
Friday 17 August 2007 at 16:35
A wildcard is set to turn heads at the US Open, after spurning her final year of university to go pro.
NCAA singles champion Audra Cohen won the collegiate title in May before making the decision, and has been rewarded with a ticket to the main draw of the US Open.
The 21-year-old represented her country at the Pan American Games last month and finished fourth in doubles.
Despite her glowing start to professional tennis, however, the spring chicken will struggle at the Open, which features 99 of the top-100 women.
A handful of other wildcards at the event starting on August 27th include 20-year-old Jamea Jackson, who ranked 45th in the world in 2006 but spent the start of this year nursing a hip injury.
More reliably, Justine Henin-Hardenne, who was last year's runner-up, is the favourite in the win market, but there are still good odds on defending champion Maria Sharapova.
It appears that punters have been slow to forget the lower leg strain which forced her to abandon the East west bank Classic in Los Angeles early this month, although there are no signs that the injury will persist.
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