{"id":57695,"date":"2023-07-02T11:01:32","date_gmt":"2023-07-02T15:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=57695"},"modified":"2023-07-02T10:36:03","modified_gmt":"2023-07-02T14:36:03","slug":"wimbledon-day-1-mens-predictions-musetti-varillas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2023\/07\/02\/wimbledon-day-1-mens-predictions-musetti-varillas\/","title":{"rendered":"Wimbledon Day 1 Men’s Predictions Including Lorenzo Musetti vs Juan Pablo Varillas"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/a>, Lorenzo Musetti vs Juan Pablo Varillas<\/a>, Nick Kyrgios vs David Goffin<\/a>, Hubert Hurkacz vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas<\/a>, Casper Ruud vs Laurent Lokoli<\/a>, Andrey Rublev vs Max Purcell<\/a>, and John Isner vs Jaume Munar<\/a>. Predicting this set of matches are Jack Edward, Damian Kust, and Andreas Pelekis. Who do you think will advance?<\/p>\n

Wimbledon Day 1 Men’s Predictions<\/h2>\n

Richard Gasquet vs Corentin Moutet<\/h4>\n

Jack:<\/em>
\nCorentin Moutet is persistent enough to make this difficult. He\u2019ll slice and scrap his way to a fifth set whether Richard Gasquet likes it or not. The veteran is still sharp as a tack, however, and will make it through, regardless of how long it drags on.
\nPrediction: Gasquet in 5<\/em><\/p>\n

Damian:<\/em>
\nThis certainly should be extraordinary in terms of aesthetic pleasure. The two-time Wimbledon<\/a> semifinalist is the favorite. While these runs happened a long time ago, it seems like even at this stage of his career he still gets a boost anytime he\u2019s out there on the grass.
\nPrediction: Gasquet in 5<\/em><\/p>\n

Andreas:<\/em>
\nGasquet\u2019s stunning upset over Tsitsipas was more about Gasquet winning the match as opposed to Tsitsipas losing the match. Gasquet fired some vintage backhands late in the third set, reminiscent of his prime form that led him to two Wimbledon semifinals in 2007 and 2015. Moutet hasn\u2019t had a terrible grass court season, but he should have been more competitive in the matches he\u2019s lost. He also hasn\u2019t benefited from his lackluster conversion of break points throughout the grass season, something that needs to change against Gasquet. Gasquet will have to hold up physically against a player that gets a lot of balls back, but look for him to grind through.
\nPrediction: Gasquet in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

[cta id=591 type=cta]<\/p>\n

Brandon Nakashima vs Jordan Thompson<\/h4>\n

Jack:<\/em>
\nJordan Thompson is riding a great wave of form but his game doesn\u2019t amount to a whole lot on return, with ATP regulars like Brandon Nakashima able to match him on serve. Despite Nakashima\u2019s dodgy form, let\u2019s not forget he made it to the fourth round of Wimbledon last year. I like his own ability to hold serve and backhand to pick apart Thompson.
\nPrediction: Nakashima in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Damian:<\/em>
\nThompson is coming off a pretty great grass swing and he\u2019s improved his first serve so much over the years. Would be amazing for him if he could turn it into a Wimbledon run at some point. This is far from an easy draw to start things off though.
\nPrediction: Thompson in 5<\/em><\/p>\n

Andreas:<\/em>
\nAn interesting first round matchup, with the winner ultimately a new victim to Djokovic\u2019s torture chamber on Centre Court. Both players are solid athletes on the grass, with Thompson having the slightly better grass court season thus far. With the Aussie narrowly losing an ATP final against Griekspoor, he\u2019ll want to capitalize and finish the grass season strong. Nakashima is also solid on grass, as the American lost in the fourth round of Wimbledon last year; he headlined Centre Court against Nick Kyrgios and fell in five tough sets. This match could be a five-setter itself, with the winner coming down to a couple key breaks of serve.
\nPrediction: Nakashima in 5<\/em><\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>