Some might consider the first-round Wimbledon matchup between Venus Williams and Coco Gauff a be-careful-what-you-wish-for situation. But even if Gauff loses, that won’t really be the case.
After becoming the youngest player in the Open Era to qualify at Wimbledon on Thursday afternoon, the 15-year-old American was asked about her preferences for the main draw. “It would great to share the court with Venus or Serena,” she said of her tennis idols.
The dream is now a reality for Gauff, whose name popped up right next to that of Venus during Friday’s draw ceremony at the All-England Lawn and Tennis Club. It was a dream deferred for three months after the Delray Beach, Fla. resident came within one round of facing Venus at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, losing to Daria Kasatkina to crush her hopes.
Now, nothing more than about 72 more hours stands in her way.
“I’m still in shock,” Gauff said after crushing Greet Minnen 6-1, 6-1 in the final round of qualifying. “Playing against the top players in the field is going to be a different feel.”
It is sure going to be different against one of the greatest of all time, but Venus is not at the top these days. The 39-year-old American, who is a five-time Wimbledon champion, is unseeded as the No. 44 player in the world. She is 2-3 in her last five matches and coming off a Birmingham quarterfinal loss to Ashleigh Barty.
Barty is the top player in the world, having gone on to capture the Birmingham title–thus ascending to the No. 1 ranking for the first time in her career. Also the reigning French Open champ, Barty finds herself in a stacked quarter of the Wimbledon bracket that also features Serena, defending champion Angelique Kerber, Belinda Bencic, Donna Vekic, grass-court specialist Alison Riske, and former Wimbledon champions Garbine Muguruza and Maria Sharapova.
A less daunting second section could present an opportunity for French Open semifinalists Amanda Anisimova and Johanna Konta.
Among those on the bottom half are Venus, Goff, Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki, Madison Keys, and Victoria Azarenka.
Other first-round matchups to watch are Vekic vs. Riske, Bencic vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Anisimova vs. Sorana Cirstea, Svitolina vs. Daria Gavrilova, Carla Suarez Navarro vs. Samantha Stosur, Andrea Petkovic vs. Monica Niculescu, Su-Wei Hsieh vs. Jelena Ostapenko, Victoria Azarenka vs. Alize Cornet, and Naomi Osaka vs. Yulia Putintseva.
[polldaddy poll=10352654]
who ya got?
Karolina Pliskova v Ashleigh Barty final. I’m still wavering between the two but leaning toward Pliskova for the win – She won Eastbourne in impressive fashion and beat Kerber in straight sets in the final 61, 64.
SF’s
Barty over Bertens
Pliskova over Halep
QF’s
Halep over Osaka
Plikova over Martic
Bertens over Konta (or vice versa)
Barty over Kerber
Good luck to Gauff (she is impressive) but I had to go with Venus to win that first round Wimbledon Match.
Petra Kvitova has not withdrawn yet but she says it’s still very possible that her left arm will not be ready. I picked her to two rounds, just in case she decides to play.
And a word about Svitolina. She has not done much since hooking up with Monfils, sad to say. So I don’t pick either player to do anything great this Wimbledon.
Sadly, I pick Svitolina losing to Gasparyan 2nd round….
And Monfils losing to FAA or Dimitrov 2nd round. Both Elina and Gael are useless at the moment. Sad but true.
My first round winner picks:
Sevastova, Alexandrova, Anisimova, Badosa, Barty, Bertens, Konta, Bouzkova, Buzarnescu, Diyas, Azarenka, McHale, Mladenovic, Gasparyan, Muguruza, Halep, Hercog, Hsieh, Kvitova, Flipkens, Kr.Pliskova, Kenin, Jorovic, Keys, Davis, Kudermetova, Van Uytvanck, Wang Q, Linette, Kerber, Martic, Watson, Mertens, Muchova, Bencic, Sakkari, Peterson, Niculescu, Potapova, Osaka, Townsend, Kontaveit, Goerges, Sabalenka, Puig, Sharapova, Siegemund, Stephens, Strycova,
Stosur, Svitolina, Swiatek, Tomljanovic, Vekic, Kanepi, Vondrousova, Wang Y, Serena, Venus, Kanepi, Wozniacki, Ka. Pliskova, Bouchard 😀 🤞
My WTA first round winner picks:
Sevastova, Alexandrova, Anisimova, Badosa, Barty, Bertens, Konta, Bouzkova, Buzarnescu, Diyas, Azarenka, McHale, Mladenovic, Gasparyan, Muguruza, Halep, Hercog, Hsieh, Kvitova, Flipkens, Kr.Pliskova, Kenin, Jorovic, Keys, Davis, Kudermetova, Van Uytvanck, Wang Q, Linette, Kerber, Martic, Watson, Mertens, Muchova, Bencic, Sakkari, Peterson, Niculescu, Potapova, Osaka, Townsend, Kontaveit, Goerges, Sabalenka, Puig, Sharapova, Siegemund, Stephens, Strycova,
Stosur, Svitolina, Swiatek, Tomljanovic, Vekic, Kanepi, Vondrousova, Wang Y, Serena, Venus, Kanepi, Wozniacki, Ka. Pliskova, Bouchard 😀 🤞
Just attempting to keep this thread relevant. Why don’t my first round WTA picks go through?
send to me if they didn’t go through
dang it. I think there are a couple others who post here, apart from me, that are interested in WTA.
i follow it. I simply don’t have time to cover it.
Im interested but dont have much time , so concentrate on the mens.
But looking at the Wimby draw, its very interesting , lots of first time things could happen .