For the last day of Week 1 of the fortnight we again have predictions of five of the top matches of the day. Predicting for us today are LWOS writers Niall Clarke, John Lupo, and Linda Celia Ellis.
Garbine Muguruza vs Angelique Kerber:
Niall
Head to head is 3-1 to Kerber, but Muguruza won their last meeting at Roland Garros. This surface suits the German better than the Spaniard and her counter punching style can be very effective against big hitters. Muguruza has had a good tournament on her weakest surface, but I am afraid Kerber will be too much.
Prediction: Kerber in 2
Linda
This is going to be a very hard hitting match, but I think Kerber has the advantage on the grass court. Kerber is also playing with a lot of confidence and I expect her to go quite deep in the draw. Kerber in straight sets.
Prediction: Kerber in 2
John
The German continues to roll along, running her winning streak to eight on the grass dating back to Birmingham. Muguruza emerged from a tough encounter with Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, winning in 3. The German leads their H2H 3-1 with the Spaniard winning their last meeting at the French Open. In what should be a quality match, I’ll take Kerber to win a close one.
Prediction: Kerber in 3
Timea Bacsinszky vs Sabine Lisicki
Niall
The German is always a big factor at Wimbledon, and she looked like her usual self at SW19 in the third set against McHale. Bacsinszky has been one of the success stories of 2015, and has played well to get this far. However I do not see the Swiss going any further as Lisicki will prove to be too much on grass.
Prediction: Lisicki in 2
Linda
Lisicki on paper should be able to dominate these grass court matches with her serve. But she seems to be a bit nervous or tentative which is a contrast to the way Bacsinszky has been playing. Although Lisicki got past McHale in her last match, Bacsinszky has a lot more variety to her game and is a “thinker” out on the court and if she can apply some pressure I think she can win the match.
Prediction: Bacsinszky in 3
John
The Swiss has looked rock-solid in her first 2 matches, barely dropping games en route to a 3rd Round encounter with the 2013 finalist. Lisicki was shaky at best in defeating American Christina McHale, but sometimes when you get through a match like that, you don’t look back. What the Swiss has in variety and consistency, the German has in power and serving. I’ll take Lisicki in a close affair.
Prediction: Lisicki in 3
Jelena Jankovic vs Petra Kvitova
Niall
The Czech has sailed through the opening two rounds for the loss of only three games, whilst Jankovic has had it tough. It is hard seeing anyone beating Kvitova here, never mind a Jankovic past her best. Should be fairly comfortable for the second seed.
Prediction: Kvitova in 2
Linda
In this match it is not a question of whether or not Petra will win, the question is how quickly the match will be over and if Petra will allow JJ to even get into the match. In her first two matches Petra has lost a total of two games not even allowing the spectators to get settled before the match is over. Jankovic will give her more of a fight than her previous opponents but I say the #2 seed in straight sets.
Prediction: Kvitova in 2
John
The defending champion has spent barely an hour and a half on court in destroying her first 2 opponents. Jankovic escaped Russian Evgenyia Rodina in her last match, coming from 3-1 down in the 3rd set. The Serb has shown bits of improvement from the form that had her slide down the rankings, but she has very little chance in this one.
Prediction: Kvitova in 2
Camila Giorgi vs Caroline Wozniacki
Niall
The Italian has a big game that suits grass courts to a tee, but she might be frustrated by the Wozniacki defence. It is an interesting style clash which will come down to where Giorgi is at mentally. If she is in Kamikaze mode then it will be Wozniacki, otherwise I think Giorgi might pull through.
Prediction: Giorgi in 3
Linda
Memories of a great match between these two at the U.S. Open come to mind. Both of theses players are most comfortable at the baseline and this match is sure to feature lots of long rallies. Whichever player decides to be more aggressive and move forward will be rewarded with the win. Both players are coached by their father so it should be fun watching them as their is no on court coaching allowed at the Major tournaments. Wozniacki is playing some of her best tennis on the grass this year and she is my dark horse to win the tournament, so Wozniacki in three long sets.
Prediction: Wozniacki in 3
John
The Italian is playing quite well and harnessing her power in reaching Round 3. Wozniacki struggled to close out Denisa Allertova in Round 2, nearly blowing a 5-1 2nd set lead. Giorgi burst onto the scene by defeating the Dane at her favorite major on her favorite surface and on the grass in these conditions, I expect more of the same.
Prediction: Giorgi in 2
Olga Govortsova vs Magdalena Rybarikova
Niall
Govortsova upset Alize Cornet in the last round, but I do not see it being enough to convince me that she will win this one. Rybarikova has a good grass court game and is overall the better player at this moment in time, so I am going to pick Rybarikova.
Prediction: Rybarikova in 2
John
Not many would’ve predicted this as a match to get to the Round of 16, but both recorded quality wins in the previous round. Govortsova defeated 25th seed Alizé Cornet while Rybarikova knocked off 8th seed Ekaterina Makarova. In what should be a nervy, tense match, I like the all-around skills of the bubbly Qualifier from Belarus to get past the superior serving Slovak.
Prediction: Govortsova in 3
Enjoy what you see? Check out our full Wimbledon coverage here.
Main Photo:
