The third slam of the season is upon us as 128 men descend upon London, England, for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. The All England Club draw has given us some scintillating first-round matchups, including No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner vs Yannick Hanfmann. As always, we at LWOT have our roundtable predictions for all the Wimbledon action. Ateet Shrivastava, Damian Kust, and Jordan Reynolds offer their insights.
Wimbledon Men’s Day 1 Predictions
Tallon Griekspoor vs Pablo Carreno Busta
Ateet
Tallon Griekspoor has been impressive this year but the draws have been tough for him. He lost to Jannik Sinner in the first round in Halle but put up a good fight. His game translates well on the grass with flat strokes and a big first serve. Pablo Carreno Busta has recently come back from injury and this would be a big task for him at this stage of his comeback. I expect Griekspoor to win this without any fuss.
Prediction: Griekspoor in 3
Damian
Carreno Busta is showing some signs of improvement after his comeback, but Wimbledon is a venue he’s never won a match at. It most likely won’t be this year, even though it seems like his results on grass over the years have been weaker than expected. Griekspoor is such a quality big-hitter and it will be tough for him to lose here.
Prediction: Griekspoor in 4
Jordan
Carreño Busta has never won a match in his previous seven appearances at Wimbledon. Expecting him to break that run so soon after returning from a long injury against Griekspoor is unrealistic. The Dutchman to prevail in straight sets.
Prediction: Griekspoor in 3
Alex Michelsen vs Lloyd Harris
Ateet
Alex Michelsen took out Adrian Mannarino in straight sets in Mallorca before losing in three sets to Sebastian Ofner. Michelsen has improved with every tournament on grass this year and will trust his game to beat his first-round opponent. Lloyd Harris has played a lot of tennis on grass and that helped him to qualify quite easily. He has a big game on grass, quite similar to Michelsen. There’s not much to separate these two but Harris’ superior grasscourt pedigree gives him the edge.
Prediction: Harris in 4
Damian
Harris won Surbiton recently and looks like he’s back around the Top 100 for good. The South African loves the grass and seems to have more momentum right now than Michelsen, despite the American having his ATP Tour breakthrough on the lawn last year. One of the most underrated matchups of the round.
Prediction: Harris in 4
Jordan
This match will probably come down to fine margins. Both players serve big and are unlikely to present many opportunities to their opponent. Michelsen’s blistering power is given a minor edge, but this could go either way.
Prediction: Michelsen in 5
Fabio Fognini vs Dominik Koepfer
Ateet
Fabio Fognini has a decent record on grass and his effortless power seems to rush players more on this surface but a lack of big serve is his biggest Achilles heel. Dominik Koepfer has played some good tennis this season and he will like his chances against Fognini.
Prediction: Koepfer in 5
Damian
Fognini still has that occasional peak performance in him, even if he’s gotten very unreliable physically and mentally. Koepfer is as tough as nails though and never goes below a certain level. He’ll push the Italian to have to come up with his best tennis and that’s tough to keep up for at least three sets.
Prediction: Koepfer in 4
Jordan
Neither player usually plays their best tennis on grass. Fognini did register a decent victory in Mallorca against Gijs Brouwer heading into Wimbledon. But Koepfer at his best is a better player than Brouwer. He is capable of wearing the Italian veteran down.
Prediction: Koepfer in 4
Gael Monfils vs Adrian Mannarino
Ateet
Gael Monfils played only one warm-up tournament and he got four solid matches from it. He looked good behind his serve and his athleticism is always a benefit. Adrian Mannarino has been in a slump and he would have hoped this slump to end after the clay season but it hasn’t. He has lost his last three matches on his favourite surface and Monfils will look to take advantage of this. Monfils has had an upper hand in this rivalry with five wins out of seven but the two wins for Mannarino came on grass. However, he is nowhere near that level currently.
Prediction: Monfils in 5
Damian
Mannarino is used to coming back stronger on grass after disastrous clay seasons, but this year even his favorite surface doesn’t seem to be helping him. Seems like it’s gotten to a point where it’s Monfils who can be the favorite of this veteran Frenchmen clash after he did well in Mallorca.
Prediction: Monfils in 4
Jordan
Grass has been Monfils’ weakest surface throughout his career, while it has been Mananrino’s strongest by far. However, this season has been different. Monfils’ is 3-1 on the surface after a run to the semifinal in Mallorca, but Mannarino has only managed one victory in four matches on grass heading into Wimbledon. Mannarino is capable of raising his game at SW19. Yet, his form has not been great since the Australian Open, giving Monfils a great chance of winning.
Prediction: Monfils in 4
Main Photo Credit: Jerry Lai – USA TODAY Sports
