Schiavone trying to get mind right for Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - Francesca Schiavone says winning the French Open hasn't changed her. It has changed how others regard her.

Wimbledon will be her first tournament since Roland Garros, where she became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title. Her victory two weeks ago bumped soccer off the front pages of Italy's newspapers, and she received praise in person from Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

With all the adulation - and the 12-year pro admits to not enjoying the new, extra attention from the media - she seems to have kept her feet on the ground.

"I am exactly the same," she said Saturday. "When I arrived at the airport in Italy, they said, 'Now you are important. What do you think about that?'

"And I said, 'No, I have always been important. It's just that now I won something."'

The memories of her stunning French Open run - beating Samantha Stosur 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the final, kissing the clay - remain fresh.

"You remember it all the time," she said. "I try to tell people I'm here to play Wimbledon, but everybody's curious (to ask about winning the French)."

She said she needed to refocus on tennis, but knowing she can play well at Wimbledon gave her added confidence.

Last year while unseeded, Schiavone beat three seeded players, including former finalist Marion Bartoli, to reach her first Wimbledon quarterfinals.

This year, she's the fifth-seeded woman, facing Vera Dushevina of Russia in her first match.

"It's my first time (being a Grand Slam champion)," said Schiavone, who turns 30 on Wednesday. "For sure I'm learning many things, new things. But at the same time, I can say that if I don't play tennis, I can't win.

"So I have to come back and play my best."

---

NOT CHASING ROGER: Rafael Nadal says he's not chasing Roger Federer's record of 16 Grand Slam singles titles.

Nadal's recent fifth French Open title gave him seven Grand Slams overall, including Wimbledon in 2008, tying him on the all-time list with the likes of John Newcombe, John McEnroe and Mats Wilander.

An eighth would put the top-ranked player in the same league as Fred Perry, Ken Rosewall, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi.

But Nadal said even that was thinking too far ahead for him.

"I go day to day," he said Saturday. "I am not thinking about 16 and those crazy things. I have seven. That's more than what I dreamed six years ago or five years ago. So I am very happy about my career.

"I am just thinking about my first match here."

That will be against Kei Nishikori of Japan.

---

WHERE'S THE BRITS? Only two British men are in the Wimbledon draw, the fewest ever. Even more remarkable, there's not a single Englishman in the main draw for the first time in the tournament's 133-year history.

Andy Murray and Jamie Baker are Scottish.

The lack of Brits disappoints Murray, the No. 4-ranked player.

"It's not great," he said. "It's better for me, the more British guys around."

He suggested that with eight men's wild cards at its disposal, Wimbledon could have handed out more than just one to a British player, 259th-ranked Baker.

But Murray shied away from any other criticism of the All England Club.

"It's not really something I want to get involved in," he said.

The previous lowest number of British men in the draw was four in 2008.

There are six British women in the main draw, four with wild cards.