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, Anett Kontaveit vs Jule Niemeier, and Maria Sakkari vs Viktoriya Tomova. Predicting these matches are Damian Kust, Jakub Bobro, and Steen Kirby.
Wimbledon Day 3 Women’s Predictions
Irina-Camelia Begu vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto
Damian:
Elisabetta Cocciaretto’s grass-court debut went quite well with her losing only two games to Martina Trevisan (although her compatriot produced a massive errorfest). It’s still quite early to tell but her playing style generally shouldn’t suit this surface. Irina-Camelia Begu doesn’t feel comfortable on it either, but at least she’s played on grass quite a bit over the years.
Prediction: Begu in 3
Jakub:
Cocciaretto translated her clay form onto grass, obliterating Martina Trevisan 6-2 6-0 in her first-ever match on the surface. Begu is a more experienced player on the surface, making the third round here last season and looked solid in her win over Ekaterine Gorgodze. This one is a bit of a coin flip but I will go with Cocciaretto due to the magnitude of her last win.
Prediction: Cocciaretto in 3
Steen:
Begu won their only meeting. Both players prefer clay and didn’t take the time to do grass court tournaments in preparation. One of them will reach the third round now. Cocciaretto has been on fire at the ITF level but Begu is more accomplished for a reason.
Prediction: Begu in 3
Dalma Galfi vs Kaja Juvan
Damian:
Kaja Juvan retired in her last pre-Wimbledon match at Bad Homburg, but made one of the biggest upsets of round one to take out Beatriz Haddad Maia. If healthy, in faster conditions the Slovenian should be more dangerous than Dalma Galfi, who won the ITF in Ilkley but had to fight like crazy for every win.
Prediction: Juvan in 2
Jakub:
Galfi is now on a six-match winning winning streak, beating Maddison Inglis here in the first round and winning the ITF 100 in Ilkley. Juvan pulled off a pretty huge upset over Beatriz Haddad Maia, the fifth-best women’s player on grass according to Elo. This makes the Slovenian a slight favorite for me, though Galfi will certainly make it tough
Prediction: Juvan in 3
Steen:
Juvan went 0-2 on grass prior to Wimbledon and needed three sets in the first round. Galfi won one of the warm up tournaments, and also survived in three sets in Round 1. Given the surface and the otherwise close level of these players, Galfi has an edge. Prediction: Galfi in 2
Marie Bouzkova vs Ann Li
Damian:
Marie Bouzkova put up one of the performances of the opening round to take out Danielle Collins. Her upside is higher than Ann Li’s at the moment, even if she doesn’t always bring it. The American was rather heavily outmatched in most of her recent matches against high-quality opposition.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 2
Jakub:
Bouzkova became the crowd favorite in her upset over Danielle Collins, running down every ball possible to win 6-4 in the third. Former girls’ singles finalist awaits her in Li, though the American has not shown much on grass this season. I expect the Czech to make her first slam third round here and maybe even go on a run.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 2
Steen:
Bouzkova won their only meeting, but she needed three sets to win her opening match while Li won in straights. This is a coin flip match but Bouzkova’s form looks worse for wear.
Prediction: Li in 3
Emma Raducanu vs Caroline Garcia
Damian:
Emma Raducanu survived a very tricky opener against Alison van Uytvanck, but Bad Homburg champion Caroline Garcia isn’t going to go down without the fight either. The Frenchwoman might be tiring by now, though, and if last year’s US Open champion maintains her level from the first round, she should be favored.
Prediction: Raducanu in 3
Jakub:
Raducanu was a very pleasant surprise in the first round, showing that she managed to get back to full fitness despite an injury setback three weeks ago and defeating a dangerous grass-court player in Alison Van Uytvanck. Garcia came in off the Bad Homburg title but was actually pushed in the first round by Yuriko Miyazaki. If she brings her game from last week, the Frenchwoman will be tough to beat but if she shows what she did on Monday, Raducanu should advance.
Prediction: Raducanu in 3
Steen:
Raducanu won their only meeting earlier this year at Indian Wells in three sets. The home Brit isn’t lacking fan support but she’s been in poor form and didn’t have a great run up to this tournament. She looked respectable in the first round, but going against Garcia, who won Bad Homburg and has an impressive game is a difficult task. Garcia was lucky to escape Round 1, winning a third set tiebreak. That luck should continue.
Prediction: Garcia in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
