Day 1 of Wimbledon is one of the most hectic days on the tennis calendar. Half of the first round–32 men’s matches and 32 women’s matches–will be completed on Monday. As always, we’re here at LWOT to share our thoughts on all of them for you. The women’s matches are split between eight sets of predictions. In addition to this article, we have articles featuring Petra Kvitova vs Sloane Stephens, Garbine Muguruza vs Fiona Ferro, Jessica Pegula vs Caroline Garcia, Iga Swiatek vs Su-Wei Hsieh, Madison Keys vs Katie Swan, Venus Williams vs Mihaela Buzarnescu, and Karolina Pliskova vs Tamara Zidansek. Predicting this set of matches are Fraser Learmonth, Tracey Essex, and Jakub Bobro.
Wimbledon Women’s Day 1 Predictions
Donna Vekic vs Anastasia Potapova
Fraser:
Vekic is playing her way back into form on the grass courts of Europe. The same can be said of Potopova, whose rise up the ranks was derailed by injuries. This one should be fun to watch and could go either way. I’m giving the edge to Vekic as she has more experience on the big stage, but don’t be surprised if Potopova proves me wrong.
Prediction: Vekic in 3
Tracey:
Vekic’s meteoric rise gave way to a series of losses. Now sitting at World #49, the Croat will be looking to build on her recent success in Birmingham. Vekic continues to lose matches you’d believe to be a slam dunk–only to win some of the most challenging of matches. Potopova seems to be distancing herself from a dismal clay court swing. The Russian was able to claim back to back wins in Birmingham. No doubt, it will boost her confidence in this clash. Yet, Vekic’s confidence is building and her form is returning. I expect a few hiccups, but not enough to disrupt a straight set victory for the Croat.
Prediction: Vekic in 2
Jakub:
Vekic has had middling results in the past two seasons, but usually performs well on grass. The lead-up tournaments weren’t great, losing to Nina Stojanovic and Heather Watson, but she did get a win over Camila Giorgi. Potapova, a 2016 Junior Wimbledon champion, has yet to live up to the promise she showed as a junior, but she is comfortable on grass which could help her break through here. In Birmingham, the Russian beat Stojanovic and Kristina Mladenovic before losing to the eventual champion Ons Jabeur.
Prediction: Potapova in 2
Kristie Ahn vs Heather Watson
Fraser:
Heather Watson has played good tennis in recent weeks. She surely has an advantage on grass given her experience on the surface. She is also the better player of the two here. The former British #1 should advance pretty comfortably here.
Prediction: Watson in 2
Tracey:
Two players on much different trajectories. Watson is playing on her favorite surface, and it shows in her success. Ahn is struggling to find wins this season. An out of form Ahn up against a solid grass court player in the form Watson? It should be a relatively quick win for the Brit.
Prediction: Watson in 2
Jakub:
Kristie Ahn comes in as a lucky loser, beating Caroline Dolehide and Ekaterine Gorgodze before losing to Monica Niculescu in the qualifying final round. Heather Watson is coming into Wimbledon in quite good form, reaching the semifinals in Birmingham and pushing Swiatek deep into the third set in Eastbourne. This will be Watson’s 11th Wimbledon appearance, so the experience factor is definitely on her side.
Prediction: Watson in 2
Kristina Mladenovic vs Elena Rybakina
Fraser:
Rybakina is surely the favurite here after she has rediscovered the tennis that helped her take the WTA by storm at the start of last year. Mladenovic is brilliant on her day, but far too inconsistent to pick against someone of Rybakina’s talents. Expect the Kazakh to advance.
Prediction: Rybakina in 2
Tracey:
If Rybakina is healthy, the Kazakh will chalk up a quick win. If there’s any residual injury compromising her fitness level, Mladenovic has the ability to make this a contest. Rybakina’s lead up has clearly shown her solid grass court form. Unless she’s forced to retire with lingering back trouble, Rybakina will move on.
Prediction: Rybakina in 2
Jakub:
If you look at Mladenovic now, you would be surprised that she was a Top 10 player. Not that the Frenchwoman has been horrible recently, she has just turned into a slightly sub .500 player, whose former brilliance shines through only rarely now. Rybakina is making her Wimbledon main draw debut and showed a lot of potential on the surface in the lead-up tournaments, earning wins over Anastasia Sevastova and Elina Svitolina.
Prediction: Rybakina in 2
Sofia Kenin vs Xinyu Wang
Fraser:
Kenin at her best wins this match comfortably. However, the American has struggle for form this year and has failed to live up to her sensational 2020 campaign. Wimbledon is a great opportunity to change that narrative and there have been signs in recent weeks that she is on the path back to great tennis. Expect her to advance here.
Prediction: Kenin in 2
Tracey:
Kenin hasn’t found the success of 2020 this year–yet. This feisty competitor can turn that on at a moment’s notice. Right now, we’re still waiting for that to happen. Without any lead up tournaments before Wimbledon, Kenin may struggle to find her grass court game. Wang, for her part, will be looking to build on the momentum she created in qualifiers. The determined Chinese will make the most of this opportunity. If she can frustrate Kenin, we’ll see the American’s unforced error count rise. Perhaps not enough to dismiss the fourth seed, but enough to push her to the decider.
Prediction: Kenin in 3
Jakub:
Kenin has been struggling this year and did not play any lead-up tournaments, making her performance very hard to predict. The American has never made it past a second round at Wimbledon. Facing her is 19-year-old qualifier Xinyu Wang. Wang won Junior Wimbledon in 2018, and qualified this year by beating Robin Anderson, Elitsa Kostova, and Tereza Smitkova.
Prediction: Kenin in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
