Wang continues remarkable comeback

   One hundred and twenty-eight men will begin play at Wimbledon early next week.
   Other than American Brian Baker, who missed six years because of five operations,  perhaps no one has a better story than Jimmy Wang.
   One year ago, Wang was ranked No. 491 in the world early in his injury comeback and playing before a handful of spectators in a low-level professional tournament in Sacramento. On Wednesday, the 27-year-old Taiwan native qualified for Wimbledon.
   Wang, who trains at the Gorin Tennis Academy in the Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay, advanced to the main draw with a 6-0, 7-6 (5), 7-5 victory over 10th-seeded Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain. Wang's first-round opponent will be determined during Friday's draw. 
   Also winning in the final round of qualifying was 21st-seeded Ryan Sweeting, who's scheduled to play three matches for the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis next month. Sweeting, ranked No. 129 after climbing to a career-high No. 64 last September, rallied to beat Peter Torebko of Germany 3-6, 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-4.
   Fourteenth-seeded CoCo Vandeweghe, who's set to play at least five matches for the Capitals, will face 11th-seeded Lara Arruabarrena-Vecin of Spain on Thursday for a berth in the women's main draw. 
   Wang reached a career-high No. 85 in 2006 before missing three years, beginning in 2007, because of two operations on his right (dominant) wrist. The first was for a torn ligament and the second for a bone spur.
   “It’s good to be back,” Wang said during last year's Sacramento Futures, in which he reached the semifinals. “I don’t know how to describe (how much I missed tennis). Every day I followed tennis. I grew up in tennis. My whole family played. It’s what I’m used to.”
   Wang, ranked No. 207 after reaching No. 188 in March, will make his fourth appearance in the main draw at Wimbledon but first since 2007. He lost to eventual runner-up Andy Roddick in the first round in 2004 and reached the second round in 2006 and 2007. Wang got straight into the draw the first two times and qualified the third time.      
   Wang's given name is Yeu-Tzuoo. When he was 8, an English teacher dubbed him Jimmy. The nickname has nothing to do with Jimmy Connors, Wang said.
   Wimbledon seedings -- Part-time Capitals Mardy Fish and Kevin Anderson are seeded 10th and 32nd at Wimbledon, respectively.  The seedings were announced Wednesday.
   Fish, ranked 12th, is scheduled to play home matches for Sacramento on July 12 and 13. He has not competed since undergoing a procedure in May to correct an irregular heartbeat. Anderson, ranked 30th, is set to play the Capitals' last four matches (at home on July 24, 27 and 28 and away on July 25).  
   Five-time Wimbledon singles champion Venus Williams and four-time Grand Slam singles winner Kim Clijsters are unseeded for the first time in more than a decade, the Associated Press noted. Williams has dropped to No. 55 while dealing with an autoimmune disease. Clijsters, ranked 53rd, has been plagued by ankle and hip injuries.
   Men's seedings:  1. Novak Djokovic, 2. Rafael Nadal, 3. Roger Federer, 4. Andy Murray, 5. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6. Tomas Berdych, 7. David Ferrer, 8. Janko Tipsarevic, 9. Juan Martin Del Potro, 10. Mardy Fish, 11. John Isner, 12. Nicolas Almagro, 13. Gilles Simon, 14. Feliciano Lopez, 15. Juan Monaco, 16. Marin Cilic, 17. Fernando Verdasco, 18. Richard Gasquet, 19. Kei Nishikori, 20. Bernard Tomic, 21. Milos Raonic, 22. Alexandr Dolgopolov, 23. Andreas Seppi, 24. Marcel Granollers, 25. Stanislas Wawrinka, 26. Mikhail Youzhny, 27. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 28. Radek Stepanek, 29. Julien Benneteau, 30. Andy Roddick, 31. Florian Mayer, 32. Kevin Anderson. 
   Women's seedings: 1. Maria Sharapova, 2. Victoria Azarenka, 3. Agnieszka Radwanska, 4. Petra Kvitova, 5. Samantha Stosur, 6. Serena Williams, 7. Caroline Wozniacki, 8. Angelique Kerber, 9. Marion Bartoli, 10. Sara Errani, 11. Na Li, 12. Vera Zvonareva, 13. Dominika Cibulkova, 14. Ana Ivanovic, 15. Sabine Lisicki, 16. Flavia Pennetta, 17. Maria Kirilenko, 18. Jelena Jankovic, 19. Lucie Safarova, 20. Nadia Petrova, 21. Roberta Vinci, 22. Julia Goerges, 23. Petra Cetkovska, 24. Francesca Schiavone, 25. Jie Zheng, 26. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 27. Daniela Hantuchova, 28. Christina McHale, 29. Monica Niculescu, 30, Shuai Peng, 31. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 32. Svetlana Kuznetsova.

TV SCHEDULE

(All matches on Tennis Channel; all times PDT)

   Thursday -- Eastbourne (women), quarterfinals, 3-7 a.m. (live), 7-11 a.m. (repeat), noon-4 p.m. (repeat), 5-9 p.m. (repeat).
   Friday -- Eastbourne (women), semifinals, 3-7 a.m. (live), 7-11 a.m. (repeat), 8-10 p.m. (repeat).    Eastbourne (men), semifinals, noon-4 p.m. (delay). s'-Hertogenbosch (men), semifinals, 4-8 p.m. (delay).
   Saturday -- Eastbourne (women), final, 4-6 a.m. (live), 6-8 a.m. (repeat), 2-4 p.m. (repeat). s'-Hertogensbosch (women), semifinals, 8 a.m.-noon (delay), 4-8 p.m. (repeat). Eastbourne (men), final, noon-2 p.m. (delay), 8-10 p.m. (repeat).
   Sunday -- Eastbourne (women), final, 10 a.m.-noon (repeat), 7-9 p.m. (repeat). s'-Hertogenbosch (women), final, noon-2 p.m. (delay). s'-Hertogenbosch (men), final, 2-4 p.m. Eastbourne (men), 5-7 p.m. (repeat). 

CALENDAR  

   Thursday -- Wimbledon qualifying, women's final round.
   Friday -- Wimbledon draw.
   MONDAY-JULY 8 -- WIMBLEDON, www.wimbledon.com.
   June 29 -- Renowned tennis psychologist and author Allen Fox speaks at 5:30 p.m. at the Gorin Tennis Academy, 8970 Carriage Drive, Granite Bay (Sacramento area), $10, (916) 797-8444.
   July 7-15 -- WTA, Bank of the West Classic, Stanford University, www.bankofthewestclassic.com.
   July 9 -- World TeamTennis, Sacramento Capitals' season opener at Boston, 4 p.m., www.saccaps.com.
   July 12 -- World TeamTennis, Capitals' home opener (with Mardy Fish) vs. Kansas City, Sunrise Marketplace Stadium, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com.
   July 12 -- 2012 Northern California Tennis Hall of Fame Brunch and Induction Ceremony (Nick Saviano, Andrea Norman, Steve Cornell and Martha Downing), Stanford University, Pac 12 Plaza/Cardinal Plaza, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., tickets $75 each at http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=230538.