(13) Jasmine Paolini vs Robin Montgomery
Perhaps the most vulnerable seed in the tournament, former Wimbledon finalist and No. 13 seed Jasmine Paolini has drawn one of the toughest qualifiers. Robin Montgomery won the title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and had an excellent run in qualifying that primes her for an upset. Paolini has struggled throughout the season and has only played one match on grass, a loss in Eastbourne. Montgomery has proven herself comfortable on the surface and can certainly keep the match close, if not run away with it entirely.
Maria Sakkari vs (24) Clara Tauson
24th seed Clara Tauson has found her best form just in time for Wimbledon, coming off a run to the quarterfinals of Bad Homburg, where she defeated Diana Shnaider and Qinwen Zheng before falling in a close match to Karolina Muchova. Before that tournament, though, Tauson had been struggling to find wins, and that’s the form that Maria Sakkari will want to take advantage of in this first-round match. While grass isn’t Sakkari’s best surface, she does have plenty of wins in the early rounds and isn’t an easy out, and could be a frustrating player for Tauson to face.
Serena Williams vs Maya Joint
The biggest storyline on the women’s side before the draw came out was who Serena Williams would face. With the draw revealed, she couldn’t have asked for a better first round. Maya Joint proved herself to be a good grass courter with a run to last year’s Eastbourne title, but this year, Joint hasn’t won a match on grass and is barely winning singles matches at all. Serena Williams’ history and accolades at Wimbledon need no introduction, and though she hasn’t played a singles match yet in her comeback, she’s looked solid on the doubles court, and she can certainly still compete.
Taylor Townsend vs (3) Iga Swiatek
Defending Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek played only one grass warm-up tournament, and she lost in her opening match to Emma Navarro. Taylor Townsend also played only one grass warmup and managed a single win, but that’s a tough first round to face. For Swiatek, this match has to be about erasing doubt as she starts her title defense campaign, as she showed some real vulnerability in her only grass showing so far this season. If Swiatek is playing at the level she was at during last year’s edition of Wimbledon, this shouldn’t be too daunting a challenge, but this match is extremely important for Swiatek to get things on track.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports
