Area Players Draw First-Round Opponents at Wimbledon

In addition to Pete Sampras, the former Palos Verdes High standout who is the top-seeded player in the men’s draw, two women and a man with South Bay ties have qualified for spots in the main singles draws at Wimbledon.

Play in tennis’s most prestigious tournament is scheduled to begin Monday.

Lindsay Davenport, a 17-year-old former Chadwick High student, will make her debut in Wimbledon’s main draw with a match against Veronika Martinek of Germany.

Davenport, who now attends Murrieta Valley High, turned professional in February. She defeated Gabriela Sabatini in the Virginia Slims of Florida and won the European Open in May.

Davenport is 26th on the Virginia Slims rankings and Martinek is 76th. The winner will meet the winner of the Linda Harvey-Wild-Barbara Rittner match in the second round.

Kimberly Po of Rolling Hills, who won a first-round match last year at Wimbledon before being eliminated by Martina Navratilova in a three-set second-round match, drew Florencia Labat of Argentina.

Po, ranked 56th, lost to the 41st-ranked Labat, 6-4, 6-2, in the Danone Women’s Hardcourt Championships in Brisbane, Australia, in January.

Po has advanced to the third rounds of the Australian Open, French Open and Matrix Essentials/Evert Cup. After Wimbledon, Po will play for the Forum-based Strings of World TeamTennis.

Jeff Tarango, a Manhattan Beach resident who won the 1986 Southern Section singles title as a student at Mira Costa, will meet Marcos Ondruska of South Africa in the first round.