Tournament favourite Aryna Sabalenka will look to get through her opening round match with the minimum of fuss. She will play American Emina Bektas, who has drawn the shortest possible straw in terms of opponent as she seeks to win her first slam main draw match. She is 0-4 as of now, including two losses this year.
Bektas’ successes have largely come at the ITF level with 32 titles there, mostly at doubles. The American has finally broken into the Top 100 but remains largely unproven at WTA level. A 6-4 6-0 win over Anna Blinkova in Rosmalen was the highlight of her grass swing, which ended with her losing to Zeynep Somnez in Berlin qualifying.
With a game fit for grass, it is something of a surprise the Belarussian is yet to make a Wimbledon final. She is still nursing a shoulder injury, one which saw her have to withdraw from Berlin. “The most annoying thing is that I can do anything. I can practice, I can hit my groundstrokes. I’m struggling with serving. That’s really annoying.” she said.
Bektas can hit big but the consistency will be a big reason of why she is still yet to make a real career breakthrough at 31. All the questions here will be about how Sabalenka manages her injury and how much her serve is hindered. It may see her struggle in later rounds but she should have enough quality to advance here even on a bad serving day.
Prediction – Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets
