Tsvetana Pironkova faces Vesna Dolonc at her favorite hunting ground, The Championships, in the opening round.

Presently ranked at 38 on the WTA charts, Pironkova has failed to progress beyond the second round of three out of the four Grand Slams. At Wimbledon, its a different story all together with Pironkova reaching the last 4 in 2010 and last 8 in 2011. She is so comfortable on this surface that she can play freely without worrying about the consequences. Her backhand is one of the best on the Tour and that has fired here in the last 2 years. In 2012 though, Pironkova has failed to shine with a win-loss record of 11-13. She managed reaching the quarter-finals of the Aegon International last week and would be hoping to continue with her good form on grass.

Her opponent, Dolonc, is ranked outside the Top-200 at 206 and comes into this tournament with 15-13 win-loss record. She is new on the circuit and would be aiming to make the most of the opportunities that come by and also gain some experience.

This is the first meeting between the two and Pironkova comes in as favorite for this one.