Day 2 at Wimbledon will see 32 women’s matches. We’ll wrap up the first round (weather-permitting) and find out who’s moving on to Round 2. As always, we at LWOT will share our thoughts on all of the matches for you. We split up the 32 matches between eight articles. The other articles feature Coco Gauff vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse, Serena Williams vs Harmony Tan, Iga Swiatek vs Jana Fett, Garbine Muguruza vs Greet Minnen, Jessica Pegula vs Donna Vekic, Paula Badoa vs Louisa Chirico, Petra Kvitova vs Jasmine Paolini, and Simona Halep vs Karolina Muchova. Predicting today’s articles are Fraser Learmonth, Jakub Bobro, and Jim Smith.
Wimbledon Day 2 Women’s Predictions
Claire Liu vs Nuria Parrizas Dias
Fraser:
Two very good players in the midst of great runs as far as their careers go. Parrizas Dias has been superb on clay in recent months but less of a whirlwind on other surfaces. Liu is a hard court menace still yet to show her best on grass. I think Liu has a higher ceiling and a game better suited to the surface, so I’ll give her the edge in this match.
Prediction: Liu in 3
Jakub:
Liu, a Girls’ Singles and Doubles champion, has had decent Women’s results here as well, reaching the second round out of qualifying. Parrizas-Diaz had a stunning season last year. The late bloomer went 53-17, winning two WTA and five ITF titles. The Spaniard’s record is not great though, so I see the American going through here.
Prediction: Liu in 2
Jim:
This may not be one of the more entertaining matches on day one at the Championships. Parrizas Dias is far more comfortable on the clay and if Liu has demonstrated a slightly higher aptitude for grass-court tennis, she is hardly a specialist. But in a matchup with little in it on paper, that should prove the difference.
Prediction: Liu in 3
Camila Giorgi vs Magdalena Frech
Fraser:
Giorgi has played some awesome tennis in recent weeks. The Italian is near impossible to stop when she’s striking the ball cleanly and accurately. Frech is no slouch as far as opponents go, but she can’t live with the power of Girogi over three sets.
Prediction: Giorgi in 2
Jakub:
Giorgi finally putting it all together at Montreal last season, winning the biggest title of her career, was a special moment for the now-30-year-old Italian. As she has shown here in her 2018 quarterfinal run, Giorgi has all the ingredients to go deep here if she is in her groove. Frech is not really a scary name to see in a draw next to yours but the Pole actually has a pretty strong 28-17 career grass record, winning quite a few on the lower levels. This match is on Giorgi’s racquet though, entirely depending on her form on the day. This might fluctuate during the match, so whichever way it goes, I expect it to go three.
Prediction: Giorgi in 3
Jim:
This match will be on Giorgi’s racket, as most are, but that does not necessarily mean she will win it. She has a fine record at Wimbledon and clearly enjoys playing on the grass, but she can throw in bad performances at any time. That said, after a quarterfinal showing in Birmingham and making the last four in Eastbourne, there is no reason to think she won’t beat Frech.
Prediction: Giorgi in 2
Amanda Anisimova vs Xinyu Wang
Fraser:
This is a great match featuring two young stars on the WTA Tour. Anisimova is finally rediscovering the form that saw her reach the French Open semifinal so early in her career. That level of tennis is hard to beat and should be enough to edge out Xinyu Wang in this matchup.
Prediction: Anisimova in 3
Jakub:
Anisimova has been circled as a major threat at the first two Slams, earning wins over Naomi Osaka and one over Belinda Bencic. The young American is not a proven threat on grass, losing to Magda Linette in her two previous Wimbledon appearances, but had two good wins at Bad Homburg. Xinyu Wang could be tricky though, a Girls’ Double champion here four years ago. The 20-year-old also earned a couple of decent wins at Berlin, beating Anna-Lena Friedsam and Tamara Korpatsch. Anisimova could have an interesting challenge on her hands here but I expect her to overcome it.
Prediction: Anisimova in 3
Jim:
Amanda Anisimova does not have much of a record to speak of at Wimbledon, but she has been making sufficiently encouraging strides in recent weeks to suggest that that might change this fortnight. She should at least have enough to get past Wang and equal her best effort so far at the Championships by reaching the second round.
Prediction: Anisimova in 2
Garbine Muguruza vs Greet Minnen
Fraser:
Muguruza has fallen of a cliff in recent weeks which is exactly why I think she’s a real threat to win Wimbledon this year. Players of her quality find good runs eventually, and if it comes in this tournament she may well be there when the dust settles and the trophy is lifted. At the very least she should find enough good tennis to advance past Minnen in this match.
Prediction: Muguruza in 2
Jakub:
Even with Muguruza’s 2017 title and 2015 final, no one is really talking about the Spaniard as a contender here, a tribute to just how poor her form has been. Muguruza has lost four out of her last five matches, only beating Magdalena Frech in Eastbourne. Minnen is also not in the best form, 1-3 on grass this season, but she has previously qualified for Wimbledon and reached Den Bosch quarterfinals. With this decent grass pedigree, the Belgian probably has a chance to take the former No. 1 out.
Prediction: Minnen in 3
Jim:
Muguruza has been playing very average tennis of late, which means that we should probably expect to see her reach the latter stages at Wimbledon if she does not go all the way. At any rate, she should have the beating of Minnen with the Belgian clearly not particularly comfortable on this surface.
Prediction: Muguruza in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
