Wimbledon qualifying is always a grind, and we've got three picks from today's second round that look like they could go the distance. All three are first meetings or near-blank slates, so let's see who's punching their ticket to the final round.
Wimbledon Qualifying Predictions
Hugo Gaston vs Federico Cina
Head-to-head: First meeting
Gaston is the higher-ranked player here and has some decent grass-court pedigree from his time on the main tour, but he's also had a pretty inconsistent couple of seasons and his ranking has slipped a fair bit. Cina is a younger Italian coming through the ranks, and on grass anything can happen with a big serve or a sharp net game. I think this one goes deep.
Cina edges it in a tight five.
Prediction: Cina in 3
Bu Yunchaokete vs Clement Tabur
Head-to-head: First meeting
Bu is ranked inside the top 110 and has shown he can compete at a decent level on faster surfaces and the ranking gap between these two is meaningful enough that he should be the favourite coming in. Tabur has had some decent results on clay but grass is a different story, and Bu's flat ball-striking should translate well to Wimbledon conditions. This feels like a five-setter just because qualifying matches tend to be nervy, but Bu comes through.
Prediction: Yunchaokete in 3
Nicolas Mejia vs Gustavo Heide
Head-to-head: Mejia 0-1 Heide
Heide leads the only previous meeting between these two, and while we don't have the surface details on that result, it's still a useful data point. Heide sits roughly 30 spots above Mejia in the rankings, a gap that has only grown over the past year, and has looked the more consistent player over the past year. Hard to see Mejia flipping this one at all. That said, on a surface neither player has loads of history on, there's always a slim chance he raises his level enough to make it interesting.
Heide wins this one and should still find a way to get through here, all things considered.
Prediction: Heide in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Loic Baratoux/ZUMA Press Wire