On Tuesday, Day 2 of the Wimbledon Championships, we will complete both the men’s and women’s first rounds. That means there are 32 women’s singles matches, and–as always–we here at LWOT will share our thoughts on every single one of them with you. We split the day’s 32 matches into eight articles. Our other seven articles feature Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Yulia Putintseva, Petra Kvitova vs Jasmine Paolini, Aryna Sabalenka vs Panna Udvardy, Karolina Muchova vs Jule Niemeier, Ons Jabeur vs Magdalena Frech, Elena Rybakina vs Shelby Rogers, and Maria Sakkari vs Marta Kostyuk. Predicting this set of matches are Jack Edward, Jakub Bobro, and Jordan Reynolds. Who do you think will advance?
Wimbledon Day 2 Women’s Predictions
Jelena Ostapenko vs Greet Minnen
Jack:
Jelena Ostapenko has recently gone on record saying she isn’t hitting the ball as hard every single shot. A little bit of coaching goes a long way. I suddenly don’t feel so reluctant to call straight sets when I see a distinct power disparity between her and her opponent, in this case Greet Minnen.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 2
Jakub:
Ostapenko retired from her last match and was rolling before that, winning the title in Birmingham. If she is mostly healthy, she should be beating Minnen though.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 2
Jordan:
Ostapenko has been a consistent performer at Wimbledon, reaching a semifinal, quarterfinal and an additional fourth round appearance. And she won the tournament in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago to build her confidence before the championships, although she will be hoping her retirement with dizziness in her last tournament in Eastbourne won’t reoccur. Minnen is a solid competitor but I doubt she will cause many problems.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 2
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Heather Watson vs Barbora Krejcikova
Jack:
We all know Heather Watson’s history with Wimbledon. She’ll bring a great level into her match with Barbora Krejcikova but it’s unlikely to amount to much. The Czech has the serve to stay steady on grass and is only likely to get beaten by one of the bigger hitters on tour on this surface.
Prediction: Krejcikova in 2
Jakub:
Krejcikova’s game should be suited well to grass but Watson might be a tricky opponent here, having some great performances at Wimbledon in the past. If a crowd gets behind Watson, Krejcikova may have some trouble here.
Prediction: Krejcikova in 2
Jordan:
Krejcikova was the runner up in Birmingham to Ostapenko, and if firing on all cylinders has an aggressive game to cause trouble on grass. She also reached the fourth round two years ago. Home favorite Heather Watson had her best slam result at the championships last year, and reached the semifinal in Nottingham a few weeks ago. It is a banana skin for the 2021 French Open champion, but one I think she will overcome.
Prediction: Krejcikova in 2
Irina-Camelia Begu vs Rebecca Marino
Jack:
No warm up for Irina-Camelia Begu could be dangerous against Rebecca Marino. If the Canadian is serving well, she could take advantage of the slick courts from the first few days to knock out one of the seeded players.
Prediction: Marino in 3
Jakub:
Begu’s consistency against Marino’s power will be an interesting match-up here. I will take Begu here.
Prediction: Begu in 3
Jordan:
The seeded Begu has third round appearances to her name at Wimbledon. But has played no events in grass in the run up this year. The Canadian Marino, who has taken many hiatuses and made many comebacks to tennis, has only one second round appearance at Wimbledon to her name. But I’m going for an upset here. Marino recently reached the quarterfinals of the Birmingham classic as a qualifier, and I think she might surprise an undercooked Begu.
Prediction: Marino in 3
Bianca Andreescu vs Anna Bondar
Jack:
It’s not a surface that comes completely naturally to Bianca Andreescu and she’s hardly a favorite to go deep at the tournament. She brings enough rich quality to the court to handle Anna Bondar, however. The Hungarian hasn’t played this grass season and is yet to win a grass match in her career.
Prediction: Andreescu in 2
Jakub:
Andreescu has said she is not fully fit coming into Wimbledon. Bondar is an easy opponent though, being primarily a clay courter.
Prediction: Andreescu in 2
Jordan:
The 2019 US Open champion has had little luck at Wimbledon, winning just one match in three appearances. This is despite having shots that could be damaging on grass, but her moments especially seems to suffer on the surface. Regardless I think she will get her second win at SW19 against Bondar, who has just one Grand Slam win to her name and is making just her second appearance at Wimbledon.
Prediction: Andreescu in 2
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
