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, Karolina Pliskova vs Tamara Zidansek, Jessica Pegula vs Caroline Garcia, Iga Swiatek vs Su-Wei Hsieh, Madison Keys vs Katie Swan, Venus Williams vs Mihaela Buzarnescu, and Sofia Kenin vs Xinyu Wang. Predicting this set of matches are Andrew Watson, Jim Smith, and Damian Kust.
Wimbledon Women’s Day 1 Predictions
Varvara Gracheva vs Petra Martic
Andrew:
Tough match to call but Martic will fancy another run to the second week and I give her a slight edge here due to experience and a good serve on grass.
Prediction: Martic in 3
Jim:
Petra Martic does not have a great deal of grass-court pedigree and has won just one of the three matches she has played on the surface so far. But she has been handed a relatively kind draw here. Varvara Gracheva has a bright future, but she is still finding her feet on the tour and Martic should have the beating of her here.
Prediction: Martic in 2
Damian:
Martic straight-setted Gracheva three times over the past year; can it go much different on grass? Probably not, as the young Russian just played her first match on this surface and will again struggle to handle the variety.
Prediction: Martic in 2
Elise Mertens vs Harriet Dart
Andrew:
Tough draw for the home team here with Harriet Dart facing a very experienced and quality player. Mertens isn’t great on the surface but should still have enough here.
Prediction: Mertens in 2
Jim:
One senses that opportunity is knocking for Elise Mertens this fortnight. The Belgian may not go all the way at the All-England Club, but it would be a surprise if she did not make an impact, particularly with so many star names missing in action. Harriet Dart has played some good tennis of late and could challenge the Belgian, but Mertens should prove too strong in the end.
Prediction: Mertens in 3
Damian:
Mertens really is the epitome of consistency and rarely loses to lower-ranked players. Her conquerors in the warm-ups, Coco Gauff and Ajla Tomljanovic, both have a lot more weapons than Dart.
Prediction: Mertens in 2
Polona Hercog vs Danielle Collins
Andrew:
Always find it difficult to pick against Danielle Collins in big matches, and I will lean towards her again here. Hercog is a good player and her power on grass will win her games, but Collins often finds a way to stay in matches and Hercog is prone to inconsistency.
Prediction: Collins in 3
Jim:
Danielle Collins’ preparations for the French Open–which involved surgery for endometriosis–were less than ideal, but the American still managed to battle into the third round. She may well hope to improve on that at Wimbledon and should be able to reach at least the second round, with her first-round opponent Polona Hercog badly out of form.
Prediction: Collins in 2
Damian:
The last time Collins played this event, she did quite well. All we know about her game tells us her peak on this surface might be really high. Probably a lot higher than what Hercog can produce at the moment.
Prediction: Collins in 2
Garbine Muguruza vs Fiona Ferro
Andrew:
The Spaniard will have been very disappointed with her showing at Roland-Garros, so has something to prove here. She played three good matches in Berlin as a warm up, and that probably will be enough to set her up for this match. Muguruza is a former Wimbledon champion so obviously knows how to build her performances through the Championships. She will be aiming for a straight sets win here and Ferro is slightly out of form and grass isn’t her best surface by a long way.
Prediction: Muguruza in 2
Jim:
This looks like a testing first round for Garbine Muguruza, who has hardly been pulling up trees of late. But the Spaniard has proven more than once that whilst form is temporary, class is permanent. Her attacking options should take her past Fiona Ferro and into the second round.
Prediction: Muguruza in 2
Damian:
The former champion had a solid run at Berlin and at her best, is a threat to absolutely anyone here. There’s a big difference between in-form Muguruza and out-of-form Muguruza, but it looks like she might be closer to the former at this point in time.
Prediction: Muguruza in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
