Born: 23/6/80 Nationality: Italian Seeded: 18 World ranking: 20 Wimbledon best: 3rd round (2003) Recent record: 2003: 3rd round 2002: 2nd round 2001: 2nd round

At her happiest on clay, Schiavone was sharp at the French Open before facing Jennifer Capriati in the fourth round.

Her best win of the season saw her edge out Amelie Mauresmo on her way to the last four in Warsaw last month.

And she followed that up with a place in the last eight in Rome to leave her just shy of her best-ever ranking of 15, which she achieved in February.

There were signs last year that the clay-court specialist had added something to her game as she enjoyed her best results on hard courts.

A quarter-final place at the US Open was the highlight, but Schiavone is still searching for a first tour title.