Wimbledon R1 previews and predictions: Ruusuvuori vs. Wawrinka, Kecmanovic vs. Schwartzman

Stan Wawrinka will be part of the Day 1 schedule at Wimbledon and he has a tough matchup on his hands in the form of Emil Ruusuvuori. Miomir Kecmanovic and Diego Schwartzman are also taking the court.

Emil Ruusuvuori vs. Stan Wawrinka

Wimbledon is the only major that Wawrinka has never won, and at 38 years old it’s safe to say that he is never going to win it. However, Wawrinka is a two-time quarterfinalist at the All-England Club and there is no reason why he can’t find more success there this summer. The Swiss owns a winning record at the ATP level this season (13-11) and he showcased a decent physical condition by playing consecutive five-setters at the French Open, where he defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas before falling to Thanasi Kokinakis.

It won’t be an easy opening matchup on Monday, however. Ruusuvuori is 19-16 on the main tour in 2023 and comes in at 45th in the rankings. The 24-year-old Finn won their only previous meeting 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 last summer on the hard courts of Montreal, but he isn’t great on any surface other than hard courts and heads into Wimbledon on a three-match losing streak. This is a good opportunity for Wawrinka to pull off a minor upset.

Pick: Wawrinka in 5

Miomir Kecmanovic vs. Diego Schwartzman

Kecmanovic and Schwartzman will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers. Schwartzman has won all three of their previous encounters; he prevailed 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 at Roland Garros in 2020, 6-0, 6-4 again on clay at the 2021 Buenos Aires event, and 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3) at the 2021 Rome Masters.

Given the surface change and Schwartzman’s tumble down the rankings, the story will likely be different on Monday. The 30-year-old Argentine is a horrendous 8-16 this season and finds himself at No. 98 in the world. He actually isn’t terrible on grass, but Kecmanovic should have the edge on this surface. The 23-year-old Serb finished runner-up in Antalya in 2019 and advanced to the Wimbledon third round last summer before succumbing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. Kecmanovic is 3-0 lifetime in first-round matches at the All-England Club, and that perfect record can be expected to continue.

Pick: Kecmanovic in 5