{blackbabes} Serena, Venus Williams could meet in fourth round at Wimbledon

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LONDON – For the Williams sisters, it's an earlier-than-wanted potential meeting at the All England Club this year.

Serena, the top seed, and Venus, seeded 16th, could meet in the fourth round at Wimbledon after the draw was made here Friday morning in a ceremony performed by tournament officials.

It's the earliest meeting that the sisters could have drawn – and they did. Both Venus, 35, and Serena, 33, are seeking a sixth Wimbledon title.

Maria Sharapova, the No. 4 seed, is also on the top half of the draw with the American stars, while No. 2 seed and defending champion Petra Kvitova anchors the bottom half of the women's draw.

Genie Bouchard, the Canadian who was a surprise finalist here a year ago, could face American Madison Keys in the third round. Bouchard, the No. 12 seed, has struggled of late, losing 10 of her last 12 matches since March. They're placed on the bottom half of the draw.

The Williams sisters and Sharapova will all play on Monday, as the top half of both the women's and men's draw is slated to start play at the grass-court major.

Victoria Azarenka, the former world No. 1 and a two-time major winner, also looms on the top half. Seeded No. 23, Azarenka could get No. 7 seed Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round, the winner potentially meeting Serena.

Kvitova, who pulled out of a grass lead-up event earlier this week in Eastbourne due to illness, has No. 3 seed Simona Halep on her half of the draw, along with Bouchard, Keys and the No. 5 seed Caroline Wozniacki.

Serena Williams is seeking a first-ever calendar Grand Slam in 2015, having won majors in Australia and France so far this year. No woman has completed the Grand Slam since Steffi Graf did it in 1988. Williams could match her "Serena Slam," however, by winning here: She currently holds titles from the U.S., Australian and French Opens, respectively.

The American has 20 major titles to her name, two shy of Graf's Open-Era record of 22 and four south of Margaret Court's all-time record of 24.

Venus looms in the fourth round, which would be the sisters' 26th career meeting (Serena leads 14-11). Venus won the most recent, a three-set match on hard courts in Canada last year.

It would be the sisters' earliest meeting at Wimbledon, having met four times in the final and once in the semifinals, back in 2000. Serena holds a 3-2 edge on Centre Court, including most recently, in 2009.

Here's breakdown of the draw by quarters.

Serena Williams' quarter

The world No. 1 opens against little-known qualifier Margarita Gasparyan, a Russian ranked No. 113 in the world and playing in just her second Grand Slam main draw. Williams then would meet Timea Babos or Petra Cetkovska.

Her third-round opponent is up in the air, as No. 32 seed Caroline Garcia starts against home hope Heather Watson, the winner of that match facing Dominika Cibulkova, the 2014 Australian Open finalist, or Daniela Hantuchova, the former world No. 5. One of those four would meet Serena should she make it that far.

It's the fourth round that the sisters could then meet.

Ana Ivanovic, the No. 7 seed, is Serena's potential quarterfinal opponent, but so is Azarenka, the No. 23 seed who continues to come back from an injury. The former world No. 1 nearly upset Williams in the third round of the French Open a few weeks ago.

Belinda Bencic and Carla Suarez Navarro are other notable seeds in that section of the draw.

Maria Sharapova's quarter

Sharapova, 28, is going for her first Wimbledon title since she shocked the tennis world by winning here at age 17 in 2004, beating Serena in the final. The world No. 4 is 7-3 at Wimbledon in her last three outings, losing in the fourth round twice and the second round in 2013. She was last a finalist in 2011, losing to Kvitova.

Andrea Petkovic, the German, is a potential fourth round opponent for Sharapova, while Lucie Safarova, the No. 6 seed, could await in the quarterfinals. Safarova shocked Sharapova at the French Open this year, making her way to the final. The Czech 28-year-old was a semifinalist here a year ago, as well.

Simona Halep's quarter

On the bottom half of the draw is Halep, who could get Wozniacki, the No. 5 seed in the quarterfinals. Wozniacki would likely face Angelique Kerber, a former semifinalist here, and/or Sabine Lisicki, a finalist in 2013, before the final eight.

Petra Kvitova's quarter

Kvitova, winner here both last year and in 2011, is seeded to meet No. 8 Ekaterina Makarova in the quarterfinals. Makarova, the Russian, is due to play No. 12 seed Bouchard in the fourth round should the Canadian make it that far.

But first Bouchard would have to deal with Keys, the hard-hitting American who was a semifinalist in Australia in January. The rising stars have never met on the main tour, though Keys won at a Challenger event in 2012 on hard courts.

Bouchard won just her second match in more than two months this week, beating American Alison Riske in Eastbourne. She retired from her next match with an abdominal injury, a 10th loss in 12 matches. Keys, defending champion in Eastbourne, lost in her opener, her lone match on grass this year.

Kvitova could meet Jelena Jankovic in the third round, the former world No. 1. 2012 Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska, the No. 13 seed, is a potential fourth round opponent.