By Tony Fairbairn at Wimbledon
- Sonay Kartal [Q] v Sorana Cirstea [29] | H2H: First Meeting
- Heather Watson [WC] v Greet Minnen | H2H: First Meeting
- Yuriko Lily Miyazaki [WC] v Tamara Korpatsch | H2H: First Meeting
LONDON, ENGLAND – Sonay Kartal is looking to back up her qualifying run against Sorana Cirstea as Heather Watson and Yuriko Lily Miyazaki search for form at Wimbledon.
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Sonay Kartal [Q] v Sorana Cirstea [29] | H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Sonay Kartal [Q] v Sorana Cirstea [29] | H2H: First Meeting |
| Wimbledon 2024 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £60,000 |
| Third on Court 15 (16:00 BST) | BBC Sport |
Sonay Kartal was the only British player to qualify for the main draw after earning three good wins. The 22 year-old may feel hard done by to not receive a wildcard having won three ITF tournaments earlier this year. However, Kartal has often struggled to adapt her game onto the grass having failed to win a match at Wimbledon in her past two appearances. Now Kartal looks to change that this year as she has confidence and momentum on her side.
A tough challenger awaits Kartal in the form of 29th seed Sorana Cirstea with the Romanian having some good victories this year. Despite Cirstea’s results this year, the 29th seed enters this tournament on a five match losing streak with the 34 year-old losing some winnable matches. Now Cirstea will look to turn her form around at a tournament where she has reached the third round in two of the last three years.
Kartal will need to serve well and will use the forehand to create depth and power. Meanwhile, Cirstea will dictate play on the backhand and will look to pin Kartal as far behind the baseline as possible. Kartal can definitely trouble Cirstea especially after the confidence boost she picked up in Qualifying. However, Cirstea’s experience may prove valuable especially in the tight moments.
Prediction: Cirstea in three sets.
Heather Watson [WC] v Greet Minnen | H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Heather Watson [WC] v Greet Minnen | H2H: First Meeting |
| Wimbledon 2024 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £60,000 |
| First on Court 18 (11:00 BST) | BBC Sport |
It’s that time of year again as Heather Watson looks to give the British public a heart-attack in what should be a bumpy first round ride. This time around Watson kicks off the British charge at Wimbledon having been one of the last players to complete their first round last year. In terms of form Watson has struggled this season on the main tour but has once again proven over the grass court season that she will not give up without a fight. Form counts for nothing at Wimbledon when it comes to Watson and this year should be no exception.
First up for Watson this year is Belgian Greet Minnen with the world number 84 also not having the best form this season. The 26 year-old does know how to pick up her form and confidence on grass having won back-to-back matches in Surbiton and s-Hertogenbosch as well as beating former champion Garbine Muguruza a couple of years ago. Now Minnen will use those experiences to elevate her game once more this year.
Watson will look to be aggressive on the forehand side as she will hope to be consistent on serve. Meanwhile Minnen will make life difficult for Watson, using depth and pace to force tactical errors for Watson as both players will aim to shorten the points at the net. This will be a tricky test for Watson which had entertainment and drama written all over it, in a match that could go either way.
Prediction: Watson in three sets.
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Yuriko Lily Miyazaki [WC] v Tamara Korpatsch | H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Yuriko Lily Miyazaki [WC] v Tamara Korpatsch | H2H: First Meeting |
| Wimbledon 2024 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £60,000 |
| Third on Court 16 (16:00 BST) | BBC Sport |
After qualifying for the US Open late last year, Yuriko Lily Miyazaki has struggled for consistent form having only won three matches since winning an ITF event in March. However, Miyazaki will be hopeful that she can turn that form around as she gets ready to play her second Wimbledon having lost to Caroline Garcia a couple of years ago.
A winnable first round match awaits as Miyazaki takes on Tamara Korpatsch in her first round match. Since winning the tournament in Cluj-Napoca towards the end of last year, Korpatsch has only won three matches as she enters Wimbledon on a five match losing streak. Now Korpatsch looks for only her fifth win at a Grand Slam and her second at Wimbledon.
Miyazaki will aim to serve consistently well as she aims to use depth to force errors from Korpatsch’s game. Meanwhile, the German will aim to be aggressive on return as she will look to test Miyazaki’s movement. This match could go either way but this is a very winnable match for the Brit and it’s expected she will take this opportunity with both hands.
Prediction: Miyazaki in three sets.
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