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, Glenys Furness, and Shane Black offer their insights.
Wimbledon Men’s Day 1 Predictions
Brandon Nakashima vs Sebastian Baez
Ateet
Brandon Nakashima is coming into this match with plenty of wins on grass behind him. He has a strong game for grass and would be confident to get past Sebastian Baez, who is less comfortable on grass than on clay.
Prediction: Nakashima in 3
Glenys
Baez has suffered early losses this season the grass. Although the higer ranked player, Nakashima has had the better grass results. A semifinal in Surbiton and Stuttgart and a second round at Queens. The American should pull a surprise here
Prediction: Nakashima in 4
Shane
Nakashima has the pace and polish to succeed on the grass. He should be able to push Baez around the court. The Argentine must hope for a bevy of unforced errors from the American if he is to advance.
Prediction: Nakashima in 4
Borna Coric vs Felipe Meligeni Alves
Ateet
Borna Coric has been in a slump in the last year and his rankings have dropped drastically. This is going to be Coric’s first match on grass this season. Meligeni Alves on the other hand, has already played three matches in qualifying but has never won a main draw match on grass. Coric is the better player and his experience might get him over the line.
Prediction: Coric in 5
Glenys
Coric has not played an official warm up event pre Wimbledon. This could be a bad move. Alves has come through qualifying so is already used to the surface. Qualifiers can be dangerous and Alves will be no different.
Prediction: Alves in 5
Shane
Coric is 4-10 since early February. His confidence has dipped and he is struggling against players of all levels. Meligeni Alves ran through qualifying, including an impressive win over Maxime Cressy. I will back the confident Brazilian in what should be a tight first round battle.
Prediction: Meligeni Alves in 5
Jordan Thompson vs Pavel Kotov
Ateet
Jordan Thompson has had an awesome year so far. He is an excellent spot server and is very quick and athletic. He has a good game on grass and will be a challenge for anyone. Pavel Kotov has not played since the French Open so it will be hard for him to play a tough opponent right away. He has so much variety in his game which can translate well on grass but the lack of matches will hurt him.
Prediction: Thompson in 4
Glenys
Kotov has not played a grass event coming into Wimbledon and is the lower ranked player. However, Kotov leads the head to head, having defeated Thompson in Madrid this season. Thompson, though has been quite successful in the build up. The semifinal at Queens being the best result. Thompson should get through here
Prediction: Thompson in 4
Shane
When Thompson is in-form, he can give anyone in the world a tough match. He is coming off a run to the Queen’s Club semifinals and will like his chances to advance here. Kotov has limited experience on the grass.
Prediction: Thompson in 4
Jannik Sinner vs Yannick Hanfmann
Ateet
The world No.1 Jannik Sinner is one of the top favourites to win the Championships but he has a tough draw and would want to be as efficient as possible in his matches. Yannick Hanfmann is a good player and can play at a high level on his day but he hasn’t been in good form this year.
Prediction: Sinner in 3
Glenys
Sinner is the top seed and world #1 and has played Hanfmann once so far. In the US Open last year and Sinner took the match in straight sets, with a dominating performance. The Italian also won Halle Open and is looking to win his second slam
Prediction: Sinner in 3
Shane
Sinner is a wrecking ball with no end in site. He comes to Wimbledon believing he has a real chance to make it to the final Sunday. Hanfmann’s best tennis is likely behind him. The Italian should have no problem in this match.
Prediction: Sinner in 3
Main Photo Credit: Peter van den Berg – USA TODAY Sports
