The third slam of the season is upon us as 128 men descend upon London, England, for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. The All England Club draw has given us some scintillating first-round matchups, including Carlos Alcaraz vs Mark Lajal. As always, we at LWOT have our roundtable predictions for all the Wimbledon action. Ateet Shrivastava, Glenys Furness, and Shane Black offer their insights.
Wimbledon Men’s Day 1 Predictions
Grigor Dimitrov vs Dusan Lajovic
Ateet
Dimitrov will be looking to make a deep run in Wimbledon and he has all the tools to do so. His serve and forehand have been great in the last year or so and his slice stays low on grass. Dusan Lajovic would have fancied his chances if this match was on clay but that’s not the case.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
Glenys
Dimitrov was the third seed at Queens and lost in the second round. The Bulgarian, though has in previous season won the Queens trophy so is not bad on grass. However, his best performance at Wimbledon was back in 2014 where he made the semifinal. Last year he made the fourth round. Lajovic struggles to get beyond the second round here. In fact he has never made that stage. Another first round exit looks to beckon here.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 4
Shane
Dimitrov is always a dangerous player on the grass. Despite not playing many lead-up matches on the surface, his play over the last 18 months should give him confidence on Monday. Lajovic, on the other hand, has struggled of late. This match should be no problem for the Bulgarian.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
Botic Van De Zandschulp vs Liam Broady
Ateet
Botic Van De Zandschulp has made the second week at Wimbledon before but his form has been concerning this year as he hasn’t made even a quarterfinal. Liam Broady is coming after an injury and doesn’t have the match fitness to find his best tennis right away and Van De Zandschulp will benefit from it.
Prediction: Van De Zandschulp in 4
Glenys
Van de Zandschulp lost in the first round in Eastbourne. Broady as a Brit will have the crowd behind him at Wimbledon. The Brit also lost in the first round in Eastbourne. Broady has had his best grand slam results at Wimbledon, his home slam. Third round is the best placing for Broady. This should be doable again for the Brit this year.
Prediction: Broady in 3
Shane
Liam Broady will have complete crowd support in this match. He used the Wimbledon crowd to take down Casper Ruud a few years back. However, the Brit has never been able to find consistent footing on the ATP Tour. Van de Zandschulp has won just one grass-court match over the last two years but reached the second week at Wimbledon in 2022. I favor the Dutchman in a tight battle.
Prediction: van de Zandschulp in 5
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Zizou Bergs vs Arthur Cazaux
Ateet
Zizou Bergs had a brilliant run from qualifying at the French Open and he has played three good matches here in qualifying. Arthur Cazaux is playing his first season on grass and he couldn’t make a good start as he lost in the opening round in his previous two events. Both the players are finding their game on grass but Bergs will feel more comfortable with three wins in qualifying.
Prediction: Bergs in 5
Glenys
Bergs qualified and made the second round in Holland but didn’t qualify for Queens. Cazaux lost in the first round in Holland and didn’t qualify for Queens and Eastbourne. Two closely matched players and neither favour grass.
Prediction: Bergs in 4
Shane
This match between Bergs and Cazaux offers a great chance for a lower-ranked player to make the second round at a slam. Given his history and comfortability on the grass, I give Bergs the slight edge.
Prediction: Bergs in 4
Frances Tiafoe vs Matteo Arnaldi
Ateet
Frances Tiafoe hasn’t won consecutive matches since reaching the final in Houston in early April. He had to retire from his last match after a fall and will be interesting to see if he is at full fitness or not. Matteo Arnaldi has risen the rankings in the last year but he has very little exposure to grass courts. Tiafoe has had past success on this surface but his game is all over the place at the moment. Arnaldi to win his first match at Wimbledon.
Prediction: Arnaldi in 5
Glenys
Tiafoe started his grass court campaign in Stuttgart. He lost in the quarter final to Brit Jack Draper. At Queens Tiafoe had to retire in the third set of his first round match. That is a bit of a concern as it could impact his performance here. Arnaldi lost in the second round of Queens (to the same person that defeated Tiafoe!). A tasty first round here.
Prediction: Arnaldi in 3
Shane
This has a chance to be one of the best first round matches of the tournament. Tiafoe has struggled of late but always seems to bring out his best tennis on the biggest stages. Arnaldi has played some brillant tennis this year and will be confident he can advance past the No. 29 seed. In a decider, I slightly favor the American’s ability to find crafty ways to end points.
Prediction: Tiafoe in 5
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane – USA TODAY Sports