Wimbledon R1 previews and predictions: Thiem vs. Pospisil, Gasquet vs. Ferrer

Dominic Thiem may be much higher ranked, but Vasek Pospisil has a distinct surface advantage as they head into first-round action at Wimbledon on Tuesday. Richard Gasquet and David Ferrer are also on the schedule.

(8) Dominic Thiem vs. Vasek Pospisil

A marked contrast in styles will be on display when Thiem and Pospisil collide for the second time in their careers during first-round action at Wimbledon on Tuesday. Their only previous meeting came two years ago on the clay courts of Munich, where Thiem survived a 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(9) thriller. The eighth-ranked Austrian is emerging as one of the top dirtballers in the sport and perhaps even a clay-court specialist. He is already a two-time French Open semifinalist and six of his eight career ATP titles have come on the slow stuff. Thiem, who fell to Jiri Vesely in three straight tiebreakers in the 2016 Wimbledon second round, suffered recent grass-court losses against Robin Haase (Halle second round) and Ramkumar Ramanathan (Antalya second round).

Pospisil, by contrast, is at his best on grass. The 73rd-ranked Canadian made a run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2015 and he successfully qualified for all three of his grass-court appearances this summer. He ended up reaching the ‘s-Hertogenbosch quarterfinals, lost to Dustin Brown in a third-set tiebreaker in Halle, and advanced one round in Eastbourne before succumbing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. Making a serious move back up the rankings, Pospisil is full of confidence and should give Thiem a grass-court lesson complete with aggressive, net-charging tactics.

Pick: Pospisil in 4

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(22) Richard Gasquet vs. David Ferrer

Gasquet and Ferrer will be facing each other for the 13th time in their careers on Tuesday. Ferrer owns a dominant 9-3 advantage in the head-to-head series, but the two veterans have not met since the spring of 2015. At 35 years old, Ferrer is no longer the same player that he was when he was cleaning Gasquet’s clock left and right. The Spaniard has slumped to No. 39 in the world and his 2017 record stands at a horrendous 8-13, including 0-2 on grass.

Gasquet appears to be past his prime, as well, but the 31-year-old has at least played well enough to maintain a top 30 ranking and get seeded–comfortably–at Wimbledon. He is a stellar 19-9 this season and 8-2 in his last 10 completed matches (not including a retirement against Gael Monfils in round three of the French Open). The Frenchman recently advanced to the Eastbourne semifinals and ran into Monfils again, this time losing 6-2, 6-7(7), 7-6(4). Gasquet has a distinct advantage over Ferrer in both current form and the surface, so Ferrer’s recent woes will likely continue.

Pick: Gasquet in 4

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