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, 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
Kristina Kucova vs Laura Pigossi
Fraser:
Tough match to call with neither player having played on grass yet this year. Kucova appears to have a slightly higher ceiling than Pigossi and more experience in these situations. With that in mind, she’s my pick to edge out what looks to be a coin toss of a match.
Prediction: Kucova in 3
Jakub:
One of the lower-quality match-ups here. Kucova is struggling this season, 7-16 on the year, and 7-15 on grass in her career, opting not to play any grass lead-ups this season. Pigossi has never played on grass before though and since bad experience is better than no experience at all, I will go with Kucova here.
Prediction: Kucova in 3
Jim:
It’s been an indifferent few months for Kucova, but she has been handed what looks like a winnable first-round match here. Pigossi is having a career-best season, but she has very little experience on the grass and has never been ranked inside the top 100.
Prediction: Kucova in 2
Mihaela Buzarnescu vs Nastasja Schunk
Fraser:
Schunk looks a great young talent who may well be ready for the big leagues after some of the tennis she’s put on display this year. This is a perfect opportunity to start doing exactly that and I expect we’ll see the German in round 2.
Prediction: Schunk in 2
Jakub:
Buzarnescu has not played since she retired from her Surbiton quarterfinal match three weeks ago so the Romanian is tough to predict. 18-year-old Schunk ripped through qualifying without dropping a set, so I feel comfortable picking the young German here.
Prediction: Schunk in 3
Jim:
This match could probably go either way. But Buzarnescu is not exactly known for her grass-court prowess, whilst Schunk will surely be full of confidence after an impressive run through the qualifying. It won’t be easy for the German, Buzarnescu is too experienced a player for that, but expect Schunk to have the edge.
Prediction: Schunk in 3
Christina McHale vs Sara Sorribes Tormo
Fraser:
Sorribes Tormo hasn’t been as red hot this year as she was in 2021. However, the Spaniard is still and immense defender with great heart. However, grass courts tend to reward aggression and McHale has that in spades, particularly off the forehand wing. Back the American to move on here.
Prediction: McHale in 3
Jakub:
McHale, who is a former Top 25 player, has dropped out of the Top 250 with a steep decline over the past two seasons. The American has made just one third round here in ten previous appearances, which is why her qualifying wins over Viktoria Kuzmova and Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove came as a bit of a surprise. Sorribes Tormo is at her most dangerous on clay but the Spaniard has been able to get wins on grass in the past, so I do not see a reason why she should not beat McHale.
Prediction: Sorribes Tormo in 2
Jim:
A tough first-round draw for both, this looks that much tougher for McHale. Sorribes Tormo got some valuable miles in her legs last week in Eastbourne having been out of action since May and her greater affinity for grass-court tennis should make up for any lack of match sharpness.
Prediction: Sorribes Tormo in 3
Iga Swiatek vs Jana Fett
Fraser:
Swiatek has to be the predicted winner in every match she plays until she loses. The Pole has been that good that I just don’t see anyone beating her any time soon. Even if I were to take a stab at who it might be that ends her run, it wouldn’t be Fett and it wouldn’t be now.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Jakub:
Swiatek’s dominance this season has been something to behold with a 44-3 record and more than 4000 points lead over the World No. 2. The Pole chose not to play any lead-ups after winning Roland Garros and looked very good in the first three rounds here last year, losing to Ons Jabeur. Fett has had a decent grass season, qualifying after coming back from a set down against Mariam Bolkvadze and Katarina Zavatska. The Croat does not really have anything to hurt Swiatek, so I expect the No. 1 to cruise.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Jim:
Swiatek might be a little undercooked having not yet played on the grass this season, but the way the Pole has been playing over the last few months it’s hard to see any outcome here other than a Swiatek victory. And probably a comfortable one.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
