Day 3 at Wimbledon will see the second round begin in both the women’s and men’s singles draws. The first round already produced plenty of upsets, especially on the women’s side of the tournament. What does the second round hold? As always, our writers are here to share their thoughts on all the matches. We split Wednesday’s matches between this article and three others–featuring Ons Jabeur vs Katarzyna Kawa, Emma Raducanu vs Caroline Garcia, and Maria Sakkari vs Viktoriya Tomova. Predicting these matches are Damian Kust, Jakub Bobro, and Jim Smith.
Wimbledon Day 3 Women’s Predictions
Alison Riske vs Maja Chwalinska
Damian:
Maja Chwalinska plays an unusual style filled with slices and mixing pace, but when an opponent can overpower her and get out of these patterns, she’s often left without many options. Alison Riske is almost a grass specialist and should be able to solve the Chwalinska riddle.
Prediction: Riske in 2
Jakub:
Very rarely does a player bagel someone in their first set in a Slam main draw but Chwalinska did exactly that against Katerina Siniakova, closing the match out in straight sets. The Pole is fun to watch but will have a much tougher challenge against grass expert Riske. The American made the finals of Nottingham this year and did not have any trouble against Yvena In-Albon. It will certainly be an interesting match-up but I do see Riske winning here.
Prediction: Riske in 3
Jim:
Chwalinska continued her excellent Wimbledon campaign with a dominant first-round win over Katerina Siniakova and, although she will be the underdog here, she should not be underestimated. That said, Riske has an excellent record at Wimbledon and the American’s first-round win over Ylena In-Albon was impressive. Chwalinska will make her work for this, but expect Riske to have the edge.
Prediction: Riske in 3
Sorana Cirstea vs Tatjana Maria
Damian:
Even at this stage of her career, Tatiana Maria’s slice and dice game continues to baffle plenty of players. The German’s touch is excellent and with Sorana Cirstea not in particularly good form, she could have serious winning chances here.
Prediction: Maria in 2
Jakub:
Cirstea put to bed fitness question marks after her first-round retirement from Eastbourne by beating Aleksandra Krunic in two tiebreaks. Maria is a tough out on grass, coming back from a set down against Astra Sharma. This match will be a battle with Cirstea as the slight favorite as she has won all three previous meetings but the German has not taken an easy loss on grass this season.
Prediction: Cirstea in 3
Jim:
Cirstea had to work hard to get past Aleksandra Krunic in the first round; the Serbian took her to two tiebreaks, and things will probably not get any easier against Maria. The German’s net-rushing style is particularly effective on the grass and she possesses an excellent sliced backhand. Still, Cirstea will have the advantage from the baseline and that should be decisive.
Prediction: Cirstea in 3
Angelique Kerber vs Magda Linette
Damian:
Years go by and Angelique Kerber still moves on the Wimbledon grass better than anyone else on the tour. If Magda Linette will be on top of her game then it’s not an easy matchup, but the German has a lot of tools to disrupt rhythm on this surface.
Prediction: Kerber in 3
Jakub:
The 34-year-old Kerber looked strong in her opener against Kristina Mladenovic, bageling the Frenchwoman. Linette defeated Fernanda Contreras Gomez as expected and will be ready to push the German. The two met during Kerber’s Starsbourg title run last month and it went all the way to 6-4 in the third. I expect the Pole to fight again but the change in surface makes me even more confident of a Kerber victory here.
Prediction: Kerber in 3
Jim:
Kerber ultimately did not having things all her own way against Kristina Mladenovic after a superb start to the match, but it was still a very encouraging performance from the German. More of the same should see her past Linette and into the third round.
Prediction: Kerber in 2
Anett Kontaveit vs Jule Niemeier
Damian:
Anett Kontaveit might be in trouble here. The second seed hasn’t done well at Grand Slams recently (and is lacking match rhythm). Jule Niemeier is an extremely competent player and her massive first serve should get a big boost on the grass. Big chance for the up-and-coming German.
Prediction: Niemeier in 3
Jakub:
The struggling second seed looked good against Bernarda Pera in the opener, winning a tough first set and not letting the American to get into the second one. Niemeier beat Xiyu Wang to start and will make it tough for Kontaveit, though I see the Estonian coming through.
Prediction: Kontaveit in 3
Jim:
Kontaveit has been in indifferent form in recent months, in fact for most of this season, but she looked sharp in beating Bernarda Pera in the first round in straight sets. If she can maintain that level against Niemeier, expect her to beat the German in similar fashion.
Prediction: Kontaveit in 2
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