The first day of the Wimbledon Championships is always a keenly anticipated day in the tennis calendar and it takes place on Monday at the SW19 facility with a number of leading stars in the men and women draws looking to get their campaign off to a winning start.
As is tradition in this tournament the defending men’s champion gets play underway on Centre Court so we will see Roger Federer on the first day and there are a number of stars on show alongside him to kick off the tournament on what is expected to be a hot day on and off the courts.
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Centre Court
It is Roger Federer who will get first use of Centre Court. He takes on the potentially dangerous opponent Dusan Lajovic before the Eastbourne champion and Australian Open winner Caroline Wozniacki looks to get her first win when she plays the tricky Varvara Lepchenko. The action concludes with the heavyweight tussle between Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov on what is Swiss day on Centre Court.
Court 1
The US Open champion Sloane Stephens will be first onto the renovated number one court when she takes on the capable Croatian star Donna Vekic. The first Briton on show on the main courts is then up when Liam Broady faces the former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic before the former champion Serena Williams closes the show on the second main court when she takes on Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands.
Court 2
Queens champion and number three seed Marin Cilic is up first on Court 2 when he plays Yoshihito Nishioka before the former winner Venus Williams plays her first round match. She takes on Johanna Larsson and then the tasty looking all-French clash takes place as Richard Gasquet goes up against Gael Monfils for a second round spot. Elena Svitolina finishes off the action on this court when she plays the winner in Mallorca last week in Tatjana Maria.
Court 3
2017 semi-finalist Sam Querrey is first up on Court 3 when he plays Jordan Thompson of Australia in what should be a decent match. Ajla Tomjanovic then faces US Open runner up Madison Keys before John Isner graces the Wimbledon courts for the first time this year. He takes on Yannick Maden of Germany and then the popular Coco Vandeweghe rounds off the action when she faces Katerina Siniakova in a match which could get a little tricky if she lets it.
Best of the Rest
As ever if you have a ground pass on the opening day of a Grand Slam or are watching the various streams online there are some great players dotted around the minor courts on Monday. Karolina Pliskova and Kevin Anderson headline the action on Court 12 while Lucas Pouille and Victoria Azarenka are on show out on Court 18. Kiki Bertens, Adrian Mannarino, Philipp Kohlscreiber, Anastasija Sevastova and Pablo Carreno Busta are among the players on show around the grounds.
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Men’s Betting
I like two bets from the men’s draw on Monday with the first coming in the all-French clash between Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet. Both men have had a good run on the grass leading into this tournament which should ensure both are tip top in terms of their preparation. They met twice on the grass last year and both went three sets and I fancy we’ll be going deep in this match. Monfils is very good on fast courts but Gasquet’s variety is likely to keep him more than competitive. This has the feel of a long one to me and over 38.5 games is very appealing as it is hard to see either winning this in straight sets given how well they know each other.
Pablo Carreno Busta is another who has shown a liking for faster courts recently and although he has a very poor record on grass courts I think he has landed a nice draw to make it through with a fair bit in hand on Monday. He takes on Radu Albot who has barely won a match all season and not really beaten anyone of note. While this is clearly not PCB’s favourite surface he is a good enough player now to be able to handle it. He has admitted he is practicing hard to come good on this surface and ran Alexander Zverev relatively close in an exhibition last week. I expect the Spaniard to come through with a little in hand here.
Women’s Betting
There is something of a gamble going on with Camila Giorgi in her match with Anastasija Sevastova but I’m inclined to bet the other way and take the Latvian who arrives here most likely to be fired up having lost in the final in Mallorca last week. Getting to the final shows she is hitting the ball nicely and is moving well on grass so she should be full of confidence. Giorgi began the year well with a decent run in Sydney but hasn’t carried that on and she hasn’t been competitive at all on the grass or indeed the faster hard courts since Sydney. I like the Latvian in this one.
Tips
Back G.Monfils vs R.Gasquet – Over 38.5 games for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Ladbrokes
Back it here:
Back P.Carreno Busta (-4.5 games) to beat R.Albot for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Boylesports
Back him here:
Back A.Sevastova to beat C.Giorgi for a 4/10 stake at 1.95 with Betfair
Back her here:
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