Day 2 at Wimbledon will see the conclusion of the first round. That means there are 32 men’s matches on offer on Tuesday, and–as always–we here at LWOT will share our thoughts on all of them with you. We split the day’s 32 matches between eight articles. The other seven articles feature Carlos Alcaraz vs Jeremy Chardy, Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Dominic Thiem, Holger Rune vs George Loffhagen, Andy Murray vs Ryan Peniston, Daniil Medvedev vs Arthur Fery, Cameron Norrie vs Tomas Machac, and Frances Tiafoe vs Yibing Wu. Predicting this set of matches are Shane Black, Jakub Bobro, Damian Kust. Who do you think will advance?
Wimbledon Day 2 Men’s Predictions
Grigor Dimitrov vs Sho Shimabukuro
Shane:
Grigor Dimitrov has won just one combined match in his last four trips to the All England Club. Despite the lack of Wimbledon success, I do not see him struggling with qualifier Sho Shimabukuro. The Japanese native has played well on the grass this season, but he does not have the tools to hang with Dimitrov.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 4
Jakub:
Shimabukuro shocked Denis Kudla in the final qualifying round, taking out the experienced American in straight sets. He should not be too tough of an opponent for Dimitrov though. The Bulgarian has been consistent this season and is a good grass player.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
Damian:
Nice run from Shimabukuro to make the main draw with a stunning win over Kudla, but the quality of the competition goes up a lot here. Dimitrov is pretty amazing on grass and he’s just not been vulnerable to upsets at all this season.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
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Milos Raonic vs Dennis Novak
Shane:
Milos Raonic has been one of the most successful Wimbledon players of the past decade, reaching two quarterfinals, one semifinal, and the 2016 final. The big-serving Canadian won a match a few weeks back in Den Bosch for his first ATP victory in over two years. His Round 1 Wimbledon opponent, Dennis Novak, is a skilled grass-court player. Raonic will look to limit the length of points and will be able to win many free points, but I see Novak dragging this out and beating him in a fifth set.
Prediction: Novak in 5
Jakub:
The former finalist is one of the biggest unknowns heading into Wimbledon. We only saw him play two matches in Hertogenbosch and Dennis Novak won’t be an easy player to beat. This match could truly go either way, depending on what form Raonic brings here.
Prediction: Novak in 5
Damian:
Raonic’s form is very much a question mark with his Queen’s withdrawal. If he can bring the level he displayed in Hertogenbosch though, he will be dangerous. He’s a grass-court master and I’m going to believe in his ability to recover in time.
Prediction: Raonic in 4
Jason Kubler vs Ugo Humbert
Shane:
Ugo Humbert’s inconsistency over the past three seasons has been a detriment to his overall standing on tour. Jason Kubler dominated the Challenger Tour in 2022 and reached a career-high ranking of world No. 63 earlier this year. The Aussie is 7-3 on the grass this season and should find the finish line in a tight first-round battle.
Prediction: Kubler in 5
Jakub:
Two tricky players on grass court who could challenge Carlos Alcaraz in the third round. Could go either way but I am leaning towards Humbert as he has the more explosive game.
Prediction: Humbert in 5
Damian:
Humbert’s grass season was fairly disappointing with how he’s been playing this year. But even when he was out of form and low on confidence in 2022, he still had a run at Wimbledon. This is by no means easy though with Kubler winning the warm-up in Ilkley.
Prediction: Humbert in 5
Alex de Minaur vs Kimmer Coppejans
Shane:
No. 15 seed Alex de Minaur gets his Wimbledon campaign underway against Belgian qualifier Kimmer Coppejans. Coppejans won their only previous meeting in 2016, but this go around will be different. The Aussie is much more comfortable on the grass and moves too well for Coppejans to do any damage.
Prediction: De Minaur in 3
Jakub:
Coppejans, who almost skipped grass altogether until he was convinced by Liam Broady, is one of the better qualifiers to face. De Minaur is a tough out and a strong grass players, so he shouldn’t be having issues here.
Prediction: De Minaur in 3
Damian:
What a qualifying run from Coppejans, overcoming his 0-8 grass record and scoring a mindblowing victory over Zizou Bergs. De Minaur would be an enormous upset though. Don’t know if the Australian is a Top 10 player on grass, but he’s not that far off.
Prediction: De Minaur in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
