Whiley prepares for French Open defence

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Jordanne Whiley starts the defence of her French Open doubles crown on Wednesday – but also faces a tough opening draw in the singles.

Ickenham star Whiley and her partner Yui Kamiji have won the last five Grand Slam women’s doubles titles and they begin against Charlotte Famin of France and Sharon Walraven of the Netherlands.

In the singles, where she is ranked world number five, Whiley will play Dutchwoman Jiske Griffioen, the world number two.

She has only beaten Griffioen once in 20 matches but that came in a Grand Slam event, at the US Open in 2013.

Their most recent meeting was at the World Team Cup last Thursday, when Griffioen defeated Whiley to help the Dutch win their semi-final against Great Britain.

Whiley said: “Playing Jiske in the quarter finals will be tough. She’s world number two and I’ll have to be on top of my game to beat her.

“I’m feeling good though. It’s great to be back in Paris after a successful week at the World Team Cup and I’m looking forward to it.”

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