Monday means Day 1 of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. Half of the first round will be contested, which means we get to see 32 men’s matches. As always, our writers here at LWOT will try to share our thoughts on all of the matches for you. We split the 32 matches between eight articles. Our other articles for Day 1 feature Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Filip Krajinovic, Lorenzo Musetti vs Juan Pablo Varillas, Nick Kyrgios vs David Goffin, Hubert Hurkacz vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Casper Ruud vs Laurent Lokoli, Andrey Rublev vs Max Purcell, and John Isner vs Jaume Munar. Predicting this set of matches are Jack Edward, Damian Kust, and Andreas Pelekis. Who do you think will advance?
Wimbledon Day 1 Men’s Predictions
Yannick Hanfmann vs Taylor Fritz
Jack:
Yannick Hanfmann grew up playing on clay but there’s no reason his game doesn’t work on grass. In this form, with that serve, he’ll likely match Taylor Fritz blow for blow. I’m backing a first-round banana skin for the American.
Prediction: Hanfmann in 5
Damian:
Hanfmann is playing with so much confidence this year and while grass has never been his favorite, he’s got the weaponry to be dangerous on it. This is a rough opening test for last year’s quarterfinalist. He should still advance, but he needs to be sharper than in the warm-ups.
Prediction: Fritz in 4
Andreas:
This match flags as a big upset alert. Last year’s Wimbledon was where Fritz broke through at Grand Slam level, falling to Nadal in a fifth set tiebreaker. Ever since then, his Grand Slam results haven’t been the same. Hanfmann’s been in fantastic form this grass season, taking out Tsitsipas in Mallorca. Meanwhile, Fritz hasn’t been able to get going recently, with only his serve carrying him through matches on grass. The American will have to touch up on his consistent game this match to get through; with first round nerves expectedly prevalent, it could be a messy five-setter.
Prediction: Fritz in 5
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Borna Gojo vs Maximilian Marterer
Jack:
Borna Gojo has the serve to live with anyone on grass. Maximillian Marterer should be more used to the courts after fighting off Fabian Marozsan in qualifying and should be just a little more solid when the rallies do extend in some inevitable tiebreaks.
Prediction: Marterer in 4
Damian:
This might end up being a complete serve fest. Marterer looked fairly dangerous in the qualifying and will have the momentum here. It’s basically a toss-up, but Gojo’s ground game hasn’t been looking all that steady on the grass so far, unlike on hard court or clay.
Prediction: Marterer in 5
Andreas:
Marterer’s already faced all of the demons existent in a dramatic five setter, as he won 7-5 in the fifth in his final round of qualifying. Gojo narrowly snatched a spot in the main draw, yet he hasn’t made a big ATP breakthrough yet; he’s excelled due to his consistency in ATP Challenger tournaments. Marterer has a big serve that could help him on the grass, and pushing through dramatic moments already could ease the pressure he would otherwise face in a first round affair.
Prediction: Marterer in 4
Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs Bernabe Zapata Miralles
Jack:
Tomas Martin Etcheverry just got himself a seeding for this year’s tournament–it seems to have come in handy as he’s drawn fellow clay-courter Bernabe Zapata Miralles. Whilst both men will bring a great level despite the courts not suiting their styles, Etcheverry has made enough substantial improvements to his serve to get the win.
Prediction: Etcheverry in 3
Damian:
Both players have little to do with grass, but it seems like there’s a clear favorite here. Etcheverry has improved his serve this year and now has the option to use different types of deliveries than he would usually go for on clay courts. He’ll get to use the +1 forehand here a lot.
Prediction: Etcheverry in 4
Andreas:
Both players would gladly go back to Roland Garros to play this first round match, as neither player likes grass and hasn’t won a match on the green. Zapata Miralles put up a good fight against Taylor Fritz, but his defensive game was exposed in the match. Etcheverry lost to Wolf in his lone grass court match this year, unable to even get a breakpoint. Both players should be evenly matched given their inexperience on what feels like a whole new surface to them, so it could come down to mental strength and resilience. Cue a long five-setter with many long rallies; this match will feel like a taste of the outside courts of Roland Garros.
Prediction: Zapata Miralles in 5
Nick Kyrgios vs David Goffin
Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Kyrgios announced his withdrawal from Wimbledon due to a wrist injury.
Jack:
This one’s on everybody’s watch list though there’s very little guarantee Nick Kyrgios is back to his level from last year. His serve was still there in his loss to Yibing Wu, which should keep him competitive, but David Goffin will be feeling far more competition-ready than the Aussie.
Prediction: Goffin in 5
Damian:
What a matchup and there’s actually lots of uncertainty regarding Kyrgios’s health. His comeback looked rushed in Stuttgart; how much was he able to improve in the few weeks since? In this case, Goffin might actually be the smart pick and if he wins this, he might be going deep at Wimbledon again.
Prediction: Goffin in 5
Andreas:
Before anyone can pick a winner in this match, all eyes will have to be on Kyrgios’ fitness. This is a huge tournament for Kyrgios, but a lot of pressure should be off given the controversial discharge of ranking points last year. He’ll play on Court 1, something that favors Kyrgios given the likely packed crowd of nearly 10,000 fans. With an energetic atmosphere, he should be rejuvenated against Goffin, who’s lacked sharpness on his groundstrokes as of late. Goffin is defending quarterfinalist points from last year, but his game is nowhere where it was since then.
Prediction: Kyrgios in 4
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
