July 7, 2021; London, United Kingdom; Hubert Hurkacz (POL) seen in service action against Roger Federer (SUI) in the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club quarter-finals. Mandatory credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports
Monday marks Day 1 of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. Half of the first round will be played, meaning we will see 32 men’s matches. As always, our writers here at LWOT will try to share our thoughts on all the matches for you. We divide 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. Jack Edward, Damian Kust and Jakub Bobro predict this set of matches. Who do you think will move on?
Wimbledon Day 1 Men’s Predictions
Tomas Barrios Vera vs. Sebastian Baez
Jack:
Tomas Barrios Vera came through some great qualifying wins against Seyboth Wild and Rinky Hijikata to earn his place in the main draw. Sebastian Baez shouldn’t be too much of a step up in quality given the surface and the Argentine’s form. He is hardly the overwhelming favourite, but he could get the win after getting used to the tournament conditions.
Prediction: Barrios Vera in 5th
Damien:
Barrios Vera is not your typical clay specialist with his aggressive, flat hitting game. He has previously qualified for the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and did so again in Roehampton. It has been a superb campaign for him and he has the matchup edge here on grass.
Prediction: Barrios Vera in 4th
Jakub:
Surprisingly, Baez has been able to get a pair of wins on grass courts, a better record than he has had on the main tour. The Argentine has beaten Barrios Vera in all four of their previous meetings (all laughs), but I could see the Chilean winning here. Barrios Vera has been in fine form at the clay Challengers and brought it to Roehampton, qualifying with wins over Evgeny Donskoy, Rinky Hijikata and Thiago Seyboth Wild. I expect a close fight and I will give Barrios Vera a slight advantage.
Prediction: Barrios Vera in 5th
Liam Broady vs Constant Lestienne
Jack:
I actually like Constant Lestienne’s game on grass, but let’s not forget the ten games the Frenchman had lost in a row before defeating Kubler in Calvia. With Lestienne out of form, Liam Broady can certainly benefit on a surface he has practiced on for the last four weeks. The Briton has won bigger victories than this one at home.
Prediction: Broady in 4th
Damien:
This one feels really hard to predict. Broady made the third round last year, but that was pretty much his only major grass race ever. He should get more results on that with the flat backhand though, so maybe this is where it happens again?
Prediction: Broady in 5th
Jakub:
After making the third round at Wimbledon last year, Broady has gone 2-4 on grass this year despite finding success on grass in doubles. Lestienne got a couple of nice wins over Jason Kubler and Denis Kudla, but still went 3-4 this grass season. The Frenchman is making his Wimbledon debut at 31 and I could definitely see this match going either way.
Prediction: Lestienne in 5th
Denis Shapovalov vs Radu Albot
Jack:
Many immediately write Denis Shapovalov off, but it’s not like his game doesn’t win once in a while. He’s still beating decent players this year, even though most of his matches have been matches. Radu Albot will be at the mercy of Shapovalov’s temper, for better or for worse.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 4th
Damien:
Albot’s qualifying run was certainly a bit low-key, but he fended off a stiff challenge from an inspired Monday in the second round. This is a match Shapovalov will be in control of, and while he is far from in a good headspace, the best-of-five format actually seems to suit him this year.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 4th
Jakub:
Shapovalov showed his potential on grass in his 2021 Wimbledon semi-final run, but we haven’t seen it since, a 2-6 record over the past two grass seasons. Albot has been a decent player on grass for the Challenger level, successfully qualifying for Wimbledon for the third time in his career. The 33-year-old could punish Shapovalov if he fails, but is certainly a beatable opponent for the Canadian to start against.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 4th
Hubert Hurkacz vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Jack:
“Hubi” Hurkacz’s serve is phenomenal on grass. Although the Pole’s grass season has not been perfect, he is still playing well. Albert Ramos doesn’t have the right weapons to keep up in this one.
Prediction: Hurkacz in 3rd
Damien:
Hurkacz isn’t exactly at his best at the moment, but he has to love this draw. The third round is basically in sight and it doesn’t look like the 2023 version of Ramos-Vinolas has any chance of stopping him. The Spaniard would have struggled here even on clay (in his form right now).
Prediction: Hurkacz in 3rd
Jakub:
Hurkacz’s grass season didn’t really take off in the warm-ups, losing to Jan-Lennard Struff in Stuttgart before his Halle title defense was ended by Tallon Griekspoor in the second round in a 10-8 third set tiebreak. Ramos-Vinolas is a great opponent for the Pole to play himself into form. The 35-year-old clay court specialist has struggled this year with an 11-22 record and hasn’t won a match on grass since 2017.
Prediction: Hurkacz in 3rd
Main photo credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports