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 Anett Kontaveit vs Jule Niemeier. Predicting these matches are Damian Kust, Jakub Bobro, and Jim Smith.
Wimbledon Day 3 Women’s Predictions
Shuai Zhang vs Marta Kostyuk
Damian:
Shuai Zhang was in brilliant form in Birmingham, but had to retire in the final against Beatriz Haddad Maia. She seems to have recovered though and if fully fit, she’s got a big chance to take this one. Marta Kostyuk has the higher ceiling, but the Ukrainian is rarely patient enough to perform at her very best.
Prediction: Zhang in 3
Jakub:
Zhang showed that she was okay physically after retiring from the Birmingham final in a straightforward win over Misaki Doi. Kostyuk’s opener had a bit more drama, coming back from a set down against Katie Swan. This should be a decent match in terms of quality with the Ukrainian being a slight favorite for me as she has won both of their previous matches, including in Eastbourne last year.
Prediction: Kostyuk in 3
Jim:
Zhang was excellent in her opener at Wimbledon, demolishing Misaki Doi for the loss of only four games. Kostyuk, meanwhile, had to work hard to get the better of Katie Swan in a three-set thriller. This has the makings of another close contest, but after Zhang’s first-round performance it is hard to pick against the Chinese.
Prediction: Zhang in 3
Qiang Wang vs Heather Watson
Damian:
Heather Watson becomes a much tougher player to eliminate with the support of the home crowd. Qiang Wang is coming off a brilliant win over Belinda Bencic and while her grass season wasn’t great as a whole, it was mostly due to tough draws. She’s the favorite, but don’t be surprised if Watson pulls it off again.
Prediction: Wang in 3
Jakub:
Wang’s upset over Belinda Bencic was particularly surprising due to the 30-year-old’s lack of form coming in. Watson came back from a set down against the tricky Tamara Korpatsch. It’s a tough one to call but I am leaning towards Watson making the third round here for the first time since 2017.
Prediction: Watson in 3
Jim:
Wang delivered a timely reminder of her quality to oust the in-form Belinda Bencic in three sets and she will surely now like her chances of reaching the third round. But Watson is a force to be reckoned with on the grass and will have the crowd right behind her. Still, Wang’s quality should eventually tell.
Prediction: Wang in 3
Jelena Ostapenko vs Yanina Wickmayer
Damian:
When Jelena Ostapenko flattens out her big blows, they can be extremely unpleasant to face on the grass. Yanina Wickmayer has the experience to capitalize if the Latvian isn’t on top of her game, but this should all be on Ostapenko’s racket (like most of her matches, to be honest).
Prediction: Ostapenko in 2
Jakub:
After reaching the Eastbourne final, Ostapenko began to get hype around her as a potential contender here. The Latvian entered impressively, a solid win over Oceane Dodin without much drama. Wickmayer will be an interesting challenge, the former No. 12 returning to the tennis in February after a 17-month hiatus. They have split in their previous meetings before Ostapenko’s rise, so if the Latvian is feeling it, she should be winning here.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 2
Jim:
When Ostapenko is on song, as she has been for the last week or so, the Latvian takes some stopping. Wickmayer is a better player than her ranking suggests and has been very impressive at Wimbledon so far, but this may well be a challenge too far for the Belgian.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 3
Maria Sakkari vs Viktoriya Tomova
Damian:
Viktoriya Tomova made one of the low-key upsets of the round, defeating Daria Saville. Feels like a repeat is rather unlikely, especially given how solid Maria Sakkari’s level has been this grass-court season (with a slight exception in the loss to Anhelina Kalinina).
Prediction: Sakkari in 2
Jakub:
Sakkari ended Zoe Hives’ cinderella run out of qualifying in straight sets. Tomova also beat an Australian, though her win over Daria Saville was much more of a battle. The Bulgarian came through, winning 7-5 in the third. Despite Tomova’s win over Sakkari in their previous meeting back in 2016, the Greek should not have too much trouble here.
Prediction: Sakkari in 2
Jim:
Sakkari was hardly troubled by Zoe Hives in the first round. Tomova has been in solid form of late, however, and should offer more resistance than the Australian. That said, if Sakkari plays anything like her best tennis, she should have too much for the Bulgarian.
Prediction: Sakkari in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
