Day 3 of Wimbledon sees the start of the women’s second round. This half of the draw was absolutely crushed in Round 1, and who knows what surprises await us in Round 2. There are 16 matches on Wednesday, and we here at LastWordOnTennis share our predictions on all of them for you. We split the 16 matches between four articles. The other three articles feature Coco Gauff vs Anca Todoni, Naomi Osaka vs Emma Navarro, and Emma Raducanu vs Elise Mertens. Predicting these matches are Jordan Reynolds, Nurein Ahmed, and Manuel Traquete. Who do you think will win?
Wimbledon Day 3 Predictions
Maria Sakkari vs Arantxa Rus
Jordan:
Rus ended a run of five straight losses at Wimbledon in the last round. But she is very unlikely to trouble Sakkari. The Dutchwoman struggles on grass the most, and does not possess any weapons to hurt the Greek.
Prediction: Sakkari in 2
Nurein:
Sakkari broke the fist round hoodoo at the Majors with her comfortable opening win. Now that the monkey is off her back, I expect the Greek to play with a lot of freedom in this match. She’s got a great record against Arantxa Rus. Additionally, the Dutchwoman doesn’t excel on this surface.
Prediction: Sakkari in 2
Manuel:
Sakkari has been struggling in recent months, but she has a very clear edge in the matchup against Rus, having only all five matches between the pair dropping only one set in the process. She should prevail again here.
Prediction: Sakkari in 2
Marta Kostyuk vs Daria Saville
Jordan:
Kostyuk will be wary of the veteran Saville, who was impressive in the last round against Peyton Stearns. Grass is certainly the surface that the Australian is most likely to beat Kostyuk on. I still think the Ukrainian will just about get it done, but an upset is not out of the question in this one.
Prediction: Kostyuk in 3
Nurein:
Could this be the year that Marta Kostyuk makes it to the second week of Wimbledon? She didn’t pick up any wins during the two warm-up tournaments she played, but she did superbly in dismissing Rebecca Sramkova in her opener. Saville was equally impressive in beating Peyton Stearns, and I’m having second thoughts in this matchup. I’ll take Kostyuk, who has been brilliant for most of 2024.
Prediction: Kostyuk in 3
Manuel:
Neither player has been having a particularly good grass season, but both played very well in their opening round here. Kostyuk is generally the more solid and consistent player, though, and should advance here.
Prediction: Kostyuk in 2
Clara Burel vs Sonay Kartal
Jordan:
Kartal will feel like anything is possible after upsetting Sorana Cirstea in the last round. Another memorable victory is possible against Burel, who is not entirely comfortable on grass. It is a tough match to call, but my instinct is to back the Briton to win once again.
Prediction: Kartal in 3
Nurein:
This will be an interesting battle of the forehands. Kartal can unleash with that shot and she’s already enjoying her best run at Wimbledon right from qualifying. Burel doesn’t have the biggest serve out there and with the home crowd by her side, I fancy the Briton to edge this encounter.
Prediction: Kartal in 3
Manuel:
Although Burel is the much higher ranked player, given current form and surface it should be quite a close match; Kartal has been playing great, making it through qualifying and winning her first round here and might well continue her run.
Prediction: Kartal in 3
Madison Keys vs Yafan Wang
Jordan:
The withdrawal of Aryna Sabalenka from this half of the draw means Keys should believe that a very deep run in London is possible. She has the game to do it, and that imposing style will almost certainly be too much for Wang in this contest. The Chinese player is a fighter, but she is not in Keys’ class on grass especially.
Prediction: Keys in 2
Nurein:
Keys, for me, is a dark horse at this tournament. She dealt with Martina Trevisan’s sharp angles quite well in her opening match to shake off her recent loss to Leylah Fernandez in Eastbourne. There is no evidence that Yafan Wang will have the defense to repel that monstrous power from the American.
Prediction: Keys in 2
Manuel:
Keys has been having a nice revival in recent months and looks close to getting into the Top 10. At the level she has been playing recently, she should be able to overcome Wang with relative ease here.
Prediction: Keys in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
