The first section is an absolute treat to friends. No. 99 Aleksandra Krunic is the 1st seed in the Wimbledon qualifying draw. The Serb’s 3rd Round performance two years ago and a final at the $100K Manchester ITF. 16th seed Petra Martic is coming off of a 4th Round run in Paris, where she equaled her best run from 2012. She will be hoping to do the same at Wimbledon where she reached the 3rd Round in 2013. That said, Martic lost her first match in Ilkley qualifying, so the Croat’s chances are not looking great. Rebecca Sramkova and Arantxa Rus are the two dangerous unseeded players. The 20-year-old Sramkova is a Giorgi-esque hitter, and when she is on, she’s unstoppable. The Slovak hasn’t played since Roland Garros qualifying and isn’t proven on grass. Arantxa Rus made good on her wild card in s-Hertogenbosch, beating Babos and later Hlavackova. Rus is hoping for her first Wimbledon main draw appearance since 2013. Mihaela Buzarnescu, Rus’ opponent, has an 8-match win streak but no experience with grass. I think it will be Krunic who will get through and beat Arantxa Rus in the final round.
My Pick: Aleksandra Krunic
2nd seed Alison Van Uytvanck is a former Top 50 player and Ilkley finalist. The Belgian is definitely the favorite for this qualifying spot. British wild cards Gabriella Taylor and Katy Dunne didn’t have incredibly impressive lead-ups, reaching a quarterfinal each. Ivana Jorovic is a talent but lost first round qualifying last year, and only reached 2nd Round of Junior Wimbledon. Van Uytvanck should come through, probably against Sachia Vickery or Tereza Martincova in the final round of qualifying.
My Pick: Alison Van Uytvanck
Ons Jabeur is hoping to follow up on her performances at the French Open, where the Tunisian reached 3rd Round as a lucky loser. Jabeur doesn’t have loads of experience on grass but qualified for Mallorca by beating Antonia Lottner and Yanina Wickmayer before losing to Ana Konjuh in three sets. It won’t be easy for Jabeur as she plays the 2015 Junior Wimbledon winner Sofya Zhuk. Zhuk won Junior Wimbledon at just 15 years of age. Now at 17, she is ready to make waves on the main tour, as she enters her first slam qualifying. This first round match will decide the qualifier. 17th seed Asia Muhammad and any of the unseeded players haven’t been impressive. Sofya Zhuk will find the edge over Jabeur and go on to qualify for her first slam at Wimbledon.
My Pick: Sofya Zhuk
Of the three Russians in Section 4, it is again the youngest who is the favorite. Anna Kalinskaya qualified for Mallorca before losing to Mona Barthel. 4th seed Lin Zhu and 23rd seed Francoise Abanda are nothing special on grass, and even though Zhu has been on the rise this year, she went 0-1 on grass. Perhaps former No. 56 Alla Kudryavtseva could remember how she made the 4th Round at Wimbledon. However that was back in 2008, 9 years ago, and Kudryavtseva is now outside the Top 200. Kalinskaya could come through here without having to perform outstandingly.
My Pick: Anna Kalinskaya
The draw continues with the Russian junior theme with 5th seed Anna Blinkova. Still only 18 years old, Blinkova was Zhuk’s opponent in the 2015 Junior Wimbledon final. Blinkova reached 2nd Round at Australian Open out of qualifying and lost in the final round of qualifying to Marketa Vondrousova in Paris. A worrying factor for Blinkova is that she went 2-3 in the grass lead-up, including a straight set loss to No. 249 Danielle Lao. Jana Fett is expected to make at least final round due to pretty good grass season. The Croat went 6-3, only losing to Watson, Barty, and Giorgi, all players that are of higher quality than the qualifying field. It is Fett’s only 3rd ever appearance at qualifying of a slam. The 20-year-old missed the majority of 2016 due to injury and missed Australian Open qualifying because she reached semifinals at Hobart. I would give Fett the edge over Blinkova, but I expect the match to go deep into the final set.
My Pick: Jana Fett
6th seed Kristie Ahn is the presumptive favorite for this section. The 25-year-old American surprised everyone by her quarterfinal run in Nottingham where she beat Naomi Osaka. None of her competitors are great on grass. 13th seed Aryna Sabalenka has experienced Fed Cup heroics on indoor hard court, but that’s an entirely different atmosphere. Kristie Ahn will beat Kudermetova, Kozlova, and Sabalenka to qualify.
My Pick: Kristie Ahn
