August 18, 2022; Cincinnati, OH, USA; John Isner (USA) wins his match against Sebastian Korda (USA) at the Western & Southern Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-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
Stan Wawrinka vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Jack:
Grass is Stan Wawrinka’s weakest surface, but he will still come into this match with all guns blazing. I actually rate Stan Wawrinka’s serve very highly and although he could often be outmatched by Emil Ruusuvuori at the back of the court, I think he will rattle through too many service games for the Finn to win.
Prediction: Wawrinka in 4th
Damien:
It looks pretty tough for Wawrinka. Ruusuvuori’s power baseline game will put pressure on him and take away time, not allowing him to settle down and start tuning into his groundstrokes. The career slam opportunity he once had is probably long gone now.
Prediction: Rusuvuori in 4th
Jakub:
Don’t expect much as Wawrinka has not played an opener here and has not progressed past the second round at Wimbledon since 2015. Ruusuvuori is probably the toughest potential third round for Novak Djokovic, who beat Jannik Sinner en route to the Hertogenbosch semis. The Finn has technically lost three matches in a row, but his game is explosive and barring an old Wawrinka performance, he should come through here.
Prediction: Rusuvuori in 4th
Aslan Karatsev vs Luca Van Assche
Jack:
Aslan Karatsev may have one of the biggest matches in men’s tennis, but he can be fended off by attacking him on his return. Luca Van Assche is aggressive enough to give the Russian a run for his money – so much so that I will back the rebel.
Prediction: Van Assche in 4th
Damien:
Van Assche doesn’t look great to start his main tour career, but he’s certainly consistent and won’t go down easily. Karatsev will have to be really sharp here and given his poor grass record, advancing is by no means a guarantee.
Prediction: Karatsev in 5th
Jakub:
Karatsev picked up a pair of grass victories over Corentin Moutet and Maximilian Marterer, but still enters with a losing 2-3 record. Van Assche went 3-2 in his first grass season so far, albeit against weaker opposition compared to Karatsev. The Russian is probably a favorite here despite a poor grass record in his career.
Prediction: Karatsev in 4th
Born Coric vs. Guido Pella
Jack:
Clearly, Guido Pella is not a million miles away from his prime. Given that the grass has been a struggle for Coric and given his left forehand will be able to absorb the Croatian’s greatest strength, I can actually see him causing the upset.
Prediction: Pella in 5th
Damien:
This is surprisingly hard to predict, but aside from the Halle title five years ago, Coric just hasn’t done well on grass. I’d still take him over the former Wimbledon quarter-finalist in Pella, as it seems the Argentine’s comeback isn’t all serious, at least for now.
Prediction: Coric in 4th
Jakub:
Pella, a quarter-finalist in 2019 at Wimbledon, has played sparingly since her comeback last November. The Argentine is yet to win two matches in a row this season but came close in Mallorca, beating Marcos Giron before losing 6-3 6-7 3-6 to Adrian Mannarino. Coric failed to win a set in preliminary events against Mackenzie McDonald and Alexander Bublik. The Croatian hasn’t played Wimbledon since 2018 and had his only main draw win here in 2015. Pella has a really solid chance of pulling out here.
Prediction: Pella in 4
John Isner vs Jaume Munar
Jack:
John Isner will be in his element against a poor grass player in Jaume Munar. Regardless of the injuries, regardless of when the tour is free, Isner still has his huge serve. Not much chance for the Spaniard, who has won only one of his nine grass court matches.
Prediction: Isner in 4th
Damien:
Isner’s 2023 campaign is just bizarre with only first round losses and the one final in Dallas. Munar is not a grass court player but he is stiff and will make the American work for it. Ultimately, the serve may end up being too important.
Prediction: Isner in 5th
Jakub:
Isner enters having played just eight tournaments this season. The 38-year-old looked competitive at the French Open in a tight 11-9 fifth-set tiebreak loss to Nuno Borges despite nearly two months out of action, so you can’t count him out. Munar has a 1-10 record on grass in his career, but the Spaniard was good at Wimbledon last year, beating Thiago Monteiro and pushing Cameron Norrie to five. It’s hard to predict, but I’ll go with Isner here.
Prediction: Isner in 5th
Main photo credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports