A few first-round picks from Wimbledon to get into today, and honestly it's a pretty interesting set of matches. Grass always throws up early chaos and this slate has at least one result I think a lot of people won't see coming.
Wimbledon Predictions
Mariano Navone vs Flavio Cobolli
Head-to-head: Navone 0-1 Cobolli
Their only previous match went to Cobolli, but it came on clay, which is a very different conversation from what we're dealing with here. Navone is a clay-court grinder through and through, and his game relies on heavy topspin and extended rallies, neither of which translate particularly well to Wimbledon's fast conditions. Cobolli at least has more variety in his game and has shown he can adapt across surfaces.
That said, a five-set scoreline suggests Navone will make it competitive before the grass eventually exposes his limitations. Cobolli gets through, but it won't be comfortable.
Prediction: Cobolli in 3
Raphael Collignon vs Arthur Fils
Head-to-head: First meeting
Fils has been one of the more exciting young players on tour but grass has never looked like his natural home and his big forehand can go either way on a slick surface. Collignon, ranked 43rd, is no pushover and this is a first meeting so there's no blueprint for either player to work from. I feel like the conditions suit Collignon's more compact, controlled game better than Fils's aggressive high-risk hitting.
Hard to see this being competitive at all. Fils is the higher-ranked player on paper but Wimbledon first rounds are exactly where rankings mean the least, and Collignon takes this one.
Prediction: Collignon in 3
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Juan Manuel Cerundolo
Head-to-head: Fokina 1-0 Cerundolo
Cerundolo is a genuine clay specialist and has been building a solid ranking, but asking him to beat Fokina on grass is a tough ask. Fokina actually has some decent grass results and moves well enough to be dangerous on this surface, and he's already got that head-to-head win, their only previous meeting on a hard court, in the bank. Cerundolo's heavy topspin game tends to sit up on grass and give opponents free points.
That said, this should be close in stretches, but Fokina's all-around game gives him the better tools here and I think he gets through, all things considered.
Prediction: Fokina in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Oscar Manuel Sanchez/ZUMA Press Wire