The second day of play at The Championships will see the first matches of the fortnight for Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who have combined to win ten of the last fourteen gentlemen’s singles titles at SW19. On the ladies’ side, we have another wide open draw at a major. Out of the sixty four ladies scheduled to play on Tuesday, they account for only five major titles combined.
Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis
The tennis gods really owe both of these men some good luck and better health. Del Potro’s wrist injuries over the years are well documented, but he’s now struggling with a groin injury that forced him to withdraw from two grass court warm-up events. Del Potro is ranked thirty-second in the world, which would normally qualify him to be seeded in the draw. However Wimbledon’s special seeding calculation, which puts extra emphasis on grass court results over the past two years, prevented Del Potro from being seeded. He continues to get some tough draws at the majors due to his ranking. Meanwhile Kokkinakis missed over a year of tennis as he also dealt with multiple injuries. Much like Del Potro, Kokkinakis contemplated if his injuries would prevent him from returning to the court. The young Australian is now back and finally feeling healthy again, which was evident as he upset Milos Raonic at Queen’s Club. It’s a shame for these two men that they were drawn to play each other in the first round, but it will be a delight for fans who arrive early to take in this first match of the day on No.2 Court.
Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Jelena Jankovic
Second up on No.2 Court will be these two veteran defensive specialists, both of whom have seen their results drop off in recent years. Radwanska is a former world number two who has been a fixture in the top ten for a decade. Wimbledon has been her strongest major, as she was a finalist in 2012 and reached the semifinals on two other occasions. Radwanska is only 11-10 in 2017 with no titles. She was upset in her only grass court warm-up match by American Lauren Davis. Jankovic’s ranking has slipped outside the top fifty, as her defensive game has not aged very well. Jelena is only 8-15 on the year, and hasn’t been past the fourth round at a major in over four years. However, Jankovic ousted Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon in 2015, so she knows how pull off the upset on the lawns of the All England Club. Radwanska holds a 7-2 career edge against Jankovic, including a victory two years ago in the Wimbledon fourth round. This should be a fun contest featuring a lot of long, grinding points, with Radwanska favored to prevail.
Novak Djokovic vs. Martin Klizan
Djokovic arrives at the All England Club alongside new coaches Andre Agassi and Mario Ancic. Both seem like smart additions to his team, but will it be enough to help turn Djokovic’s results around? It was at last year’s Wimbledon where his dip in play began, as he was upset in the third round by Sam Querrey. Novak usually does not play between Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but he entered and won the tournament in Eastbourne last week in an effort to get some momentum going. The left-handed Klizan can be a tricky opponent, but should not pose any threat to Novak. All eyes will be on three-time champion and his level of confidence.
Roger Federer vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov
Federer arrives as the favourite of many pundits to win his eighth Wimbledon title. Roger is 24-2 in 2017 with four titles, most notably winning his eighteenth major at the Australian Open. Dolgopolov has slipped to number eighty in the world, but is a streaky player who can be extremely frustrating to play against when he’s on. The Ukrainian did win a title earlier this year, defeating Kei Nishikori in the final of Buenos Aries. Dolgopolov plays with a lot of spin and can hit a lot of winners. This should be entertaining, but in the end should be business as usual for Roger Federer on Centre Court.
Dominic Thiem vs. Vasek Pospisil
This is a dangerous first round draw for Thiem. He comes into Wimbledon having played a ton of tennis in the first six months of 2017. He went 1-2 in the grass court warm-ups, and is only 2-3 lifetime at Wimbledon. Pospisil was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon two years ago. He has struggled since that career achievement, but has shown some better form this year. He defeated world number one Andy Murray in Indian Wells, and won six matches in the grass court warm-ups over the past few weeks. It would not be shocking to see the eighth seed upset in this last match of the day on No.1 Court.
Tuesday’s order of play
Centre Court 1pm start
A KERBER (Ger, 1) v I Falconi (US); M Klizan (Svk) v N DJOKOVIC (Ser, 2); A Dolgopolov (Ukr) v R FEDERER (Swi, 3)
No1 Court 1pm
M RAONIC (Can, 6) v J-L Struff (Ger); K PLISKOVA (Cz, 3) v E Rodina (Rus); D THIEM (Aut, 8) v V Pospisil (Can)
No2 Court 11.30am
JM DEL POTRO (Arg, 29) v T Kokkinakis (Aus); A RADWANSKA (Pol, 9) v J Jankovic (Ser); J Chardy (Fr) v T BERDYCH (Cz, 11); O Jabeur (Tun) v S KUZNETSOVA (Rus, 7)
No3 Court 11.30am
K Edmund (GB) v A Ward (GB); E Alexandrova (Rus) v G MUGURUZA (Sp, 14); E Donskoy (Rus) v A ZVEREV (Ger, 10); K MLADENOVIC (Fr, 12) v P Parmentier (Fr)
Court 12 11.30am
R GASQUET (Fr, 22) v D Ferrer (Sp); K Boulter (GB)v C McHale (US); G DIMITROV (Bul, 13) v D Schwartzman (Arg); O Dodin (Fr) v L SAFAROVA (Cz, 32)
Court 18 11.30am
M Barthel (Ger) v C VANDEWEGHE (US, 24); G MONFILS (Fr, 15) v D Brands (Ger); J Ward (GB) v M Baghdatis (Cyp)
Court Four 11.30am
M Youzhny (Rus) v N Mahut (Fr); Han Xinyun (Chn) v Z Diyas (Kaz); S Rogers (US) v J Boserup (US)
Court Five 11.30am
T Maria (Ger) v A Potapova (Rus); J Thompson (Aus) v A RAMOS-VIñOLAS (Sp, 25); S Tsitsipas (Gre) v D Lajovic (Ser); T Pironkova (Bul) v S Errani (It)
Court Six 11.30am
M Kukushkin (Kaz) v T Daniel (Jpn); D Allertova (Cz) v R Ozaki (Jpn); R Haase (Neth) v F Tiafoe (US); E Makarova (Rus) v A Van Uytvanck (Bel)
Court Seven 11.30am
S Darcis (Bel) v R Berankis (Lit); P Hercog (Svn) v A Beck (Ger); L Tsurenko (Ukr) v J Görges (Ger); J Tipsarevic (Ser) v J Donaldson (US)
Court Eight 11.30am
K BERTENS (Neth, 23) v S Cirstea (Rom); L DAVIS (US, 28) v V Lepchenko (US); J SOCK (US, 17) v C Garin (Chl); H Zeballos (Arg) v P LORENZI (It, 32)
Court Nine 11.30am
A Pavlasek (Cz) v E Escobedo (US); Y Wickmayer (Bel) v K Bondarenko (Ukr); B Coric (Cro) v R Harrison (US); K Kucova (Svk) v B Andreescu (Can)
Court 11 11.30am
M Linette (Pol) v B Mattek-Sands (US); V Golubic (Swi) v ZHANG SHUAI (Chn, 30); D KASATKINA (Rus, 29) v Zheng Saisai (Chn); D Sela (Isr) v M Granollers (Sp)
Court 14 11.30am
M ZVEREV (Ger, 27) v B Tomic (Aus); D GAVRILOVA (Aus, 20) v P Martic (Cro); A Riske (US) v S Stephens (US); TH Fritz (US) v J ISNER (US, 23)
Court 15 11.30am
M Niculescu (Rom) v M Rybarikova (Svk); A Rublev (Rus) v S Travaglia (It); T Bellucci (Br) v P Ofner (Aut)
Court 16 11.30am
E Gulbis (Lat) v V Estrella Burgos (Dom); K Flipkens (Bel) v M Doi (Jpn); Y Sugita (Jpn) v B Klein (GB)
Court 17 11.30am
A Rodionova (Aus) v A PAVLYUCHENKOVA (Rus, 16); G Simon (Fr) v N Jarry (Chl); L Arruabarrena (Sp) v A Kontaveit (Est); A Mannarino (Fr) v F LóPEZ (Sp, 19)
To be arranged (Not before 5pm)
T Babos (Hun) v C WOZNIACKI (Den, 5); M Puig (Pue) v T BACSINSZKY (Swi, 19)
