Monday means Day 1 of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. Half of the first round will be contested, which means we get to see 32 men’s matches. As always, our writers here at LWOT will try to share our thoughts on all of the matches for you. We split the 32 matches between eight articles. Our other articles for Day 1 feature Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Filip Krajinovic, Lorenzo Musetti vs Juan Pablo Varillas, Nick Kyrgios vs David Goffin, Hubert Hurkacz vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Casper Ruud vs Laurent Lokoli, Andrey Rublev vs Max Purcell, and John Isner vs Jaume Munar. Predicting this set of matches are Jack Edward, Damian Kust, and Jakub Bobro. Who do you think will advance?
Wimbledon Day 1 Men’s Predictions
Tomas Barrios Vera vs Sebastian Baez
Jack:
Tomas Barrios Vera came through some great qualifying wins against Seyboth Wild and Rinky Hijikata to earn his place in the main draw. Sebastian Baez shouldn’t be too much of a step in quality given the surface and the Argentinian’s form. He’s hardly the overwhelming favourite but he could get the win having got used to the tournament conditions.
Prediction: Barrios Vera in 5
Damian:
Barrios Vera is not your typical clay specialist with his aggressive, flat-hitting game. He’s qualified for the Australian Open and Wimbledon in the past, now did it again at Roehampton. It’s been a superb campaign for him and he’s got the matchup edge here on grass.
Prediction: Barrios Vera in 4
Jakub:
Surprisingly enough, Baez has been able to get a few wins on grass courts, a better record than he’s had on main tour hard. The Argentine has beaten Barrios Vera in all four of their previous meetings (all clay) but I could see the Chilean taking the win here. Barrios Vera has been in good form on clay Challengers, bringing it to Roehampton and qualifying with wins over Evgeny Donskoy, Rinky Hijikata, and Thiago Seyboth Wild. I expect a tight contest and I will give the slight edge to Barrios Vera.
Prediction: Barrios Vera in 5
[cta id=4013 type=cta]
Liam Broady vs Constant Lestienne
Jack:
I actually like Constant Lestienne’s game on grass but let’s not forget the ten matches the Frenchman had lost in a row prior to defeating Kubler in Calvia. With Lestienne in poor form, Liam Broady can absolutely take advantage on a surface he’ll have been practicing on for the last four weeks. The Brit’s pulled off bigger wins than this one on home turf.
Prediction: Broady in 4
Damian:
This one feels really tough to predict. Broady made the third round last year, but it was basically his only big grass run ever. He should be getting more results on it with that flat backhand though, so maybe this is where it happens again?
Prediction: Broady in 5
Jakub:
After making the third round at Wimbledon last year, Broady has gone 2-4 on grass this year despite finding success on grass in doubles. Lestienne got a couple of decent wins over Jason Kubler and Denis Kudla but still went 3-4 this grass season. The Frenchman is making his Wimbledon main draw debut at 31 and I could definitely see this match going either way.
Prediction: Lestienne in 5
Denis Shapovalov vs Radu Albot
Jack:
Many write off Denis Shapovalov at the drop of a hat but it’s not like his game doesn’t clock wins every so often. He’s still beating decent players this year, even if most of his matches have been struggles. Radu Albot will be at the mercy of Shapovalov’s temperament, for better or worse.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 4
Damian:
The Albot qualifying run was definitely a bit low-key, but he did fend off a tough challenge from an inspired Monday in the second round. This is a match Shapovalov will have control over and while he’s far from being in a good headspace, the best-of-five format actually seems to suit him this year.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 4
Jakub:
Shapovalov showed his potential on grass in his 2021 Wimbledon semifinal run but we have not seen it since, a 2-6 record over the past two grass seasons. Albot has been a decent player on grass for the Challenger level, successfully qualifying at Wimbledon for the third time in his career. The 33-year-old could punish Shapovalov if he is misfiring but is certainly a beatable opponent for the Canadian to start against.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 4
Hubert Hurkacz vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Jack:
“Hubi” Hurkacz’s serve is phenomenally good on grass. Though the Pole’s grass season hasn’t been perfect, he’s still playing well. Albert Ramos does not have the right weapons to keep up in this one.
Prediction: Hurkacz in 3
Damian:
Hurkacz isn’t exactly at his strongest at the moment, but he’s gotta love this draw. The third round is basically in sight and it doesn’t seem like the 2023 version of Ramos-Vinolas has any shot at stopping him. The Spaniard would have struggled here even on clay (in his form right now).
Prediction: Hurkacz in 3
Jakub:
Hurkacz’s grass season didn’t really take off in the warm-ups, losing to Jan-Lennard Struff in Stuttgart before having his Halle title defense ended by Tallon Griekspoor in the second round in a 10-8 third set tiebreak. Ramos-Vinolas is a great opponent for the Pole to play himself into form. The 35-year-old clay-court specialist has struggled this year, going 11-22, and hasn’t won a match on grass since 2017.
Prediction: Hurkacz in 3
Main Photo Credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports
