By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday June 25, 2021
The draws are set at Wimbledon and we’re all drooling over some fantastic first-round matchups. It’s time to pop the popcorn—join us as we look over ten excellent first-round matchups set at Wimbledon.
Nick Kyrgios v [21] Ugo Humbert
Think back to February, when Kyrgios won an epic 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 victory over Humbert at the Australian Open. It was one of the five match matches of the tournament, and their battle at Wimbledon could be even better. Humbert comes in hot off the Halle title, while Kyrgios has been out of action since the Aussie Open—but we know what he’s capable of on the grass.
[10] Petra Kvitova v Sloane Stephens
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova is 1-2 lifetime against Stephens, but the surface—and the venue—favor the Czech. But don’t sleep on former Grand Slam champion Stephens—The American is a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist that is just starting to find her game in 2021.
[6] Roger Federer v Adrian Mannarino
Roger Federer has set his sights on Wimbledon since the moment he announced his comeback at the beginning of the season. He’ll start his Wimbledon campaign against the devilish lefty Adrian Mannarino, a player that Federer has defeated all six times he has faced, including twice at Wimbledon, in 2011 and 2018, in straight sets.
What does Mannarino have going for him? Grass is his best surface—he’s 13-9 lifetime at Wimbledon with three round of 16 appearances, and Federer is not quite in top form yet, as we saw in Halle, where he fell to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the round of 16.
[1] Ashleigh Barty v Carla Suarez Navarro
It’s a wicked draw for Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, who will play her last Wimbledon in 2021 after heroically battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma to return to the court to say goodbye on her terms. Suarez Navarro is best known for her work on the clay, but the Spaniard has a 16-10 lifetime record at Wimbledon and she has two round of 16 appearances to her name. Barty will have her hands full, especially if she is not yet at full fitness.
[3] Stefanos Tsitsipas v Frances Tiafoe
No.3 seed Tsitsipas will enter Wimbledon with massive expectations after reaching his first major final at Roland Garros two weeks ago. Tiafoe, ranked 56 will do his best to play spoiler.
[16] Barbora Krejcikova v Clara Tauson
Reigning Roland-Garros champ Barbora Krejcikova is one of six seeded women that has never won a main draw match at Wimbledon. The Czech makes her Wimbledon debut against promising—and hard-hitting—Clara Tauson of Denmark, who is also a Wimbledon debutante.
[14] Hubert Hurkacz v Lorenzo Musetti
Italy’s Musetti flew into the round of 16 on his Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros this spring, and the Italian hopes that he can make his transition to grass equally impressive. The 19-year-old defeated Hurkacz in their only previous meeting, with the Pole retiring down a set and 2-0 to Musetti at Rome in May.
[7] Iga Swiatek v Hsieh Su-Wei
Iga Swiatek is a former Girls’ Singles champion at Wimbledon, but she has never earned a main draw victory. Hsieh Su-Wei is a crafty veteran of 11 Wimbledon main draws that took out top-seeded Simona Halep in 2018 for one of her biggest career wins.
Hsieh, a wizard of touch, could pose a significant threat to Swiatek, who was last seen out of form at Eastbourne, where she fell to Daria Kasatkina in three sets.
[10] Petra Kvitova v Sloane Stephens
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova is 1-2 lifetime against Stephens, but the surface—and the venue—favor the Czech. But don’t sleep on former Grand Slam champion Stephens—The American is a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist that is just starting to find her game in 2021.
[15] Alex de Minaur v Sebastian Korda
Alex de Minaur is proving to be a whiz on the grass. At the time of writing the Aussie had managed back-to-back semifinals at Queen’s and Eastbourne and, like so many Aussies, he just appears to thrive on the surface.
Korda, who reached the quarterfinals at Halle before bowing out to eventual champion Ugo Humbert in three sets, is making his Wimbledon debut.
[6] Serena Williams v Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams kicks off her quest for a 24th major title against dangerous Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus. Sasnovich is ranked 100, but has proven capable of a Wimbledon shocker in the past—she defeated two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the first round at SW19 in 2018.