Wimbledon Day 1 preview

Matches in Day 1:


Maria Sharapova (RUS)[1] v. Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) 
Kim Clijsters (BEL) v. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[18]
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[3] v. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK)
Venus Williams (USA) v. Elena Vesnina (RUS)
Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) v. Samantha Stosur (AUS)[5]
Jamie Lee Hampton (USA) v. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)[27]
Vesna Dolonc (SRB) v. Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL)
Petra Cetkovska (CZE)[23] v. Vania King (USA)
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) v. Pauline Parmentier (FRA)
Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) v. Eleni Daniilidou (GRE)
Stephanie Foretz Gacon (FRA) v. Monica Niculescu (ROU)[29]
Sloane Stephens (USA) v. Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
Kai-Chen Chang (TPE) v. Andrea Hlavackova (CZE)
Timea Babos (HUN) v. Melanie Oudin (USA)
Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) v. Virginie Razzano (FRA)
Edina Gallovits-Hall (ROU) v. Silvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP)
Camila Giorgi (ITA) v. Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[16]
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) v. Alberta Brianti (ITA)
Shuai Peng (CHN)[30] v. Sandra Zaniewska (POL)
Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) v. Mathilde Johansson (FRA)
Na Li (CHN)[11] v. Ksenia Pervak (KAZ)
Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS) v. Ayumi Morita (JPN)
Alexandra Cadantu (ROU) v. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)[17]
Petra Martic (CRO) v. Sabine Lisicki (GER)[15]
Naomi Broady (GBR) v. Lourdes Dominguez Lino (ESP)
Arantxa Rus (NED) v. Misaki Doi (JPN)
Christina McHale (USA)[28] v. Johanna Konta (GBR)
Lucie Hradecka (CZE) v. Angelique Kerber (GER)[8]
Nadia Petrova (RUS)[20] v. Maria Elena Camerin (ITA)
Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) v. Anna Tatishvili (GEO)
Vera Zvonareva (RUS)[12] v. Mona Barthel (GER)
Iveta Benesova (CZE) v. Heather Watson (GBR) 

Match focus:

Kim Clijsters (BEL) v. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[18]  

Battle of the former number 1s here in the opening round. There is no doubt who is the favourite here and she is not the seeded one. Jankovic has been playing like a lifeless ghost on court but this match could relight her passion. Her desire to compete will be put to the test against Kim, who has long claimed that this will be her last Wimbledon. Kim will be hungry and maybe too eager to win this match. So Jelena is not without a chance. However, recent freak losses to Oudin and Arvidsson did nothing but dent her confidence. Well, maybe she's peaking for the right tournament.

Pick: Clijsters in 2 tight sets

Petra Martic (CRO) v. Sabine Lisicki (GER)[15] 

Sabine has the game to win on grass, but not the head at the moment. She is too mentally fragile and I've lost count of the number of times she cried on court this year. It seems like she cannot handle the pressure and as long as something is not going her way, her floodgates open. This is not mature of the German and she needs to deal with her emotions better. She will have her hands full with talented Petra Martic in the first round. However, Martic made the wrong choice by playing in a meaningless clay event instead of a grass court event. Let's see if this silly decision will bite her back.

Pick: Martic in 3 sets

Vera Zvonareva (RUS)[12] v. Mona Barthel (GER) 

Vera Zvonareva is back playing and from her recent photos, she seemed to have changed her racket to Wilson. Oh Vera, this is not a good time to change rackets. Debuting your new weapon of choice in a Grand Slam is a risky choice. What's more, she's out of competition for about 4 to 5 months. All the rust and the new equipment will only add to your troubles. However, her opponent Mona Barthel is also struggling at the moment. After an impressive start to the season, Mona went off in a big way and struggled to win matches. No one knows in particular why this happened but if she manages to lose to Vera, some alarms must be sounded.

Pick: Barthel in 2 sets

Venus Williams (USA) v. Elena Vesnina (RUS) 

5 time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams is unseeded and looming but she faces a soft opener with Elena Vesnina. The Russian is not one without the game to challenge the top players. But her mental strength is so weak that you can always count on her to choke her leads away. So I don't expect Venus to be troubled here. What's more, with Venus's lethal serve, Vesnina will be pressurized to serve well too which will lead to more errors.

Pick: Williams in 2 sets

Iveta Benesova (CZE) v. Heather Watson (GBR) 

Heather Watson faces grass hating Iveta Benesova in her opening match. At least one Briton will confirmed be through to the 2nd round. Iveta's couldn't-be-bothered attitude has already lost her the match before it even began. Unless Heather breaks her leg or totally overslept, I don't see how the Czech will win this match.

Pick: Watson in 2 easy sets

Sure win bets: Ekaterina Makarova, Christine McHale, Andrea Hlavackova

Upset alerts: Timea Babos, Sabine Lisicki, Lourdes Dominguez Lino