Wimbledon 2022 LIVE: The most awaited Wimbledon Draws were finally unveiled on Friday. While with the draws gave us a picture of whom the top seeds and titles contenders could meet in the quarterfinal and the semifinals, with top players likely to meet each other, the first round of the tournament itself will have several interesting clashes. InsideSport.IN takes a look at the Top 5 opening round clashes to look out for in Wimbledon 2022. Follow Wimbledon 2022 LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN
Wimbledon 2022 LIVE: Jannik Sinner to face Stan Wawrinka, Sloane Stephens up against Qinwen Zheng – Top 5 opening round matches to look out for in Wimbledon 2022
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Jannik Sinner vs Stan Wawrinka
10th seed Jannik Sinner will face former World No.3 Stan Wawrinka in the opening round blockbuster on Monday. 20-year old Sinner has reached the quarterfinals at Australian and French Open and the fourth round at the US Open. However at Wimbledon he is yet to go past the first round and in his second season at Wimbledon, he faces a tough opponent like the experienced Wawrinka.
Sinner suffered injury at the French Open and made a comeback at the Eastbourne International this week, where he faced first round exit. Without much preparation on grass, he will have a huge task in the first round.
Meanwhile, Wawrinka will be making his 16th appearance at the Wimbledon, where he achieved the best result of reaching the quarterfinal in 2014 and 2015. After facing a first round defeat at the French Open this year, the Swiss will be eager to put on a good show at SW19. He enjoys a 2-0 Head-to-Head record against Sinner but both those meetings ame when Sinner was out of the Top-100 in world rankings. Sinner is a different player now and the upcoming contest promises to be a cracker.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Hubert Hurkacz, who stormed his way into the semifinal at the Wimbledon last year will face Alejandro Davidovivh Fokina in the opening round. Fokina had a brilliant clay court season this year. He defeated the then World No.1 Novak Djokovic in the first round at the Monte Carlo Masters and reached the final, where he faced straight set defeat against Stefanos Tsitsipas to finish as runner-up.
He started the grass court season this year by reaching the quarterfinal at Queen’s Club and faced first round exit at Eastbourne International. He will provide a good challenge to Hurkacz. Meanwhile, Hurkacz is in a good form as he has won the Halle Open title by defeating World No.1 Daniil Medvedev in the final. However against Fokina, the first round will be tricky for the Polish.
Emma Raducanu vs Alison van Uytvanck
Emma Raducanu will be playing in front of her home crowd for the first time since winning her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2021 US Open. Raducanu is however battling an injury and is racing against time to be fit after suffering a side strain during the Nottingham Open last month. She has been out of action since then and faces Belgium’s Alison van Uytvanck in the first round. Uytvanck is ranked 46th and can pose a big challenge to Raducanu.
Uytvanck won the WTA 125 event Veneto Open at Gaiba recently and is in good form on grass. She will look to pose a goo challenge against Raducanu in the opening round at Wimbledon.
Sloane Stephens vs Qinwen Zheng
Former World No.3 Sloane Stephens will face a tricky opponent in China’s Qinwen Zheng in the first round at Wimbledon. 19-year old Zheng stormed her way into the fourth round at the French Open, where she made World No.1 Iga Swiatek drop a set. Despite losing the match, her performance received applause and the Chinsese will hope to put on a similar show on grass as she faces Sloane Stephens in the opening round.
Despite first round exits at Eastbourne International and Berlin Grass court championships this year, Zheng could still pose a big challenge to Stephens. The American meanwhile featured only in a single tournament ahead of Wimbledon and bowed out from the first rpound at Homburg Open. This match will be a keenly watched encounter among all the first round contests.
Simona Halep vs Karolina Muchova
2019 Wimbledon Champion Simona Halep will face unseeded Karolina Muchova in the first round contest at the Wimbledon this year. Halep who is eyeing resurgence will face a challenge against Muchova, who has reached the quarterfinal at the All England Club last year. Despite being ranked World No.82, Muchova has shown consistent performances at Grand Slams and is someone who cannot be taken lightly. She reached the third round at the French Open this year and will look to put on a good fight against the former World No.1.
Wimbledon 2022 LIVE: Jannik Sinner to face Stan Wawrinka, Sloane Stephens up against Qinwen Zheng – Top 5 opening round matches to look out for in Wimbledon 2022
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Editors pick
