British player Jack Draper looks to get an opening match win at Wimbledon against Zizou Bergs, Denis Shapovalov also plays. We have predictions for every day 2 match at Wimbledon including Rafael Nadal’s match.
Denis Shapovalov vs Arthur Rinderknech
Damian Kust: Can last week’s semifinalist somehow regain his form? Denis Shapovalov has looked lost not only game-wise but also mentally of late. This is a very heavily serve-based matchup and certainly not an ideal opening-round draw for the Canadian. Rinderknech in 5
Jakub Bobro: Shapovalov, a semifinalist here last year, has had a tough season and was surprisingly bad on grass. The 23-year-old won just one set in losses to Oscar Otte, Tommy Paul and Benjamin Bonzi. While those are not bad losses, losing all three is not a great look, especially when Rinderknech is likely on a similar level. I expect this one to go long with Shapovalov just winning out narrowly in the end. Shapovalov in 5
Jack Draper vs Zizou Bergs
Damian: Both would have been upset alerts against some high seeds, but they square off in the opening round. The two in-form players faced each other in a brilliant final at St. Brieuc earlier this year with Draper prevailing 6-4 in the third. How about a similar outcome here? Tight one with the Brit just pulling it off. Draper in 5
Jakub: A popcorn match between two Challenger stars on the rise. Draper won four Challengers this season and has looked good, beating Taylor Fritz at Queen’s Club and making the semifinals of Eastbourne. The 20-year-old also took a set off Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year. Bergs had two finals before he won the Ilkley Challenger as a qualifier, including wins over Jack Sock and Alexei Popyrin. Draper won their previous meeting in the St. Brieuc final, taking it 6-4 in the third. That match was a preview of what to expect here and I think the British crowd will give Draper that little bit extra needed to win a close match like this. Draper in 5
Zdenek Kolar vs Benjamin Bonzi
Damian: This feels like a pretty straightforward draw for Benjamin Bonzi. The Frenchman is finally making a big impact at tour-level and he’s got a much more grass-oriented (faster surfaces in general) game than Zdenek Kolar. Bonzi in 3
Jakub: Kolar enters the draw as a lucky loser after losing to Andrea Vavassori in the final qualifying round. The Czech’s grass experience is quite limited so I expect Bonzi to win here, especially after his run to the Mallorca semifinals. Bonzi in 4
Mackenzie McDonald vs Nuno Borges
Damian: Nuno Borges gets there last-minute instead of Marin Cilic, but he would have stayed in London for the doubles regardless. His attacking game needs plenty of time to produce, but the serve gets a big boost on grass and he’s a capable net player. It’s a winnable matchup and maybe this is the lucky break the Portuguese needs. Borges in 5
Jakub: Borges comes in as a lucky loser after Cilic’s withdrawal. The 25-year-old never played on grass before this month and had to battle to beat Matteo Arnaldi and Hiroki Moriya before losing to Max Purcell in the final round. McDonald had a tough time on grass this year, taking losses to Marcos Giron and Ilya Ivashka. The American has reached the second week here back in 2018 but I see Borges as a favorite here Borges in 4
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