The top overall seeds each advanced without much of a sweat on Day 1 at Wimbledon. Each cruised in straight sets. Novak Djokovic defeated Pedro Cachin and Iga Swiatek sent Zhu Lin home.
Early results included the 4th seed Jessica Pagula surviving a bit of a scare from fellow American Lauren Davis. Same for 2-time Australian Open champ Victoria Azarenka who advanced in three sets over Yue Yuan. Liudmila Samsonova was not as fortunate. The 15th seed fell in straight sets to Ana Bogdan.
Hubert Hurkacz, Lorenzo Musetti, and Andrey Rublev were among the ranked players joining Novak Djokovic in Round 2. Unranked American Brandon Nakashima took the first two sets against Jordan Thompson but is heading home early after losing in five sets to the Australian.
Day 2 at Wimbledon brings with it the start of the tournament for the second half of the draw.
Top names in action for the women Tuesday include defending champion and 3rd-seeded Elena Rybakina taking Center Court against American Shelby Rogers (UPSET ALERT – read below). 2nd seed Aryna Sabalenka and Panna Udvardy follow that pair on Center Court while 5th seed Ons Jabeur and Magdalena Frech are scheduled Tuesday on Court 1. American Madison Keys is also in action on Day 2. The 25th seed takes on Sonay Kartal of Great Britain.
Throughout the fortnight on Bet the EDGE and here at nbcsports.com, Jay Croucher (@croucherJD) and Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) will be talking tennis and offering their thoughts on the tournament.
Enjoy Wake ‘n Cash.
July 4th Matches
Maxime Cressy -1.5 sets (+140) over Laslo Djere
Dinsick: The recent performances from Maxime Cressy have not inspired confidence while clay specialist Laslo Djere is playing well on grass for the first time in his career has led to an overreaction in the pricing of this match. In fact, the serve and volley style of Cressy will likely excel in these conditions and move the promising American into Round 2 with a 3-0 or 3-1 win making -1.5 sets a fair play at +140.
Shelby Rogers ML (+610) over Elena Rybakina
Croucher: When you’re backing an underdog in the 6/1 range, you want variance and I think that Rybakina’s health gives you that variance where I just don’t know what we’re gonna get from her. Obviously, her illness was very bad forced her to pull out of Roland Garros, when she was one of the top three favorites. She said that her preparation has not been ideal for this tournament. And also, they played each other about 12 months ago almost to the day in a lead up tournament on grass. Shelby Rogers got her in straight sets. So, you add all that up and I think that Rogers is much more live than your typical 6/1 dog…I think there’s a decent chance that she’s just not the player that you would attach to her name.
Enjoy Wimbledon and enjoy the sweat.
Previous Plays:
July 3rd: Quentin Halys ML (+105) vs. Dan Evans SUSPENDED
