Wimbledon Day 2: Matches to watch
Serena Williams was ousted in the fourth round of Wimbledon last year. (Simon Bruty/SI)
WIMBLEDON, England -- After a first day that saw some major upsets and some big names go out, who knows what we can expect on Day 2, where some veterans look for a resurgence and the youth get their day to shine. Petra Kvitova will take to Centre Court with her parents sitt
ing firmly in the Royal Box, Rafael Nadal will begin his quest for another Channel Slam against Thomaz Bellucci, and we'll finally get a sense of how Serena Williams is feeling after her surprising first-round loss at Roland Garros.
Here are the matches I'll be keeping close tabs on as the day wears on:
No. 6 Serena Williams vs. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (second match, No. 2 Court): Serena has been noticeably subdued since her first-round exit in Paris, and understandably so. That was a shocker, probably more to her than even the public. So has she had the time to shake it out and focus on the tournament that best suits her weapons? She's put in a lackluster effort in the practice sessions I've observed, her Twitter feed is decidedly depressing, and she didn't seem all that excited about things at her pretournament news conference. I'm just not convinced Serena's head or heart are in London right now, but this match could prove me wrong.
No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Lleyton Hewitt (first match, No. 1 Court): First-round matches don't get much better than this. The British crowd absolutely loves Tsonga's energy, and you know Hewitt has enough of his own to fuel a small island. No result would surprise me here. Having spent most of his post-Australian Open days healing his body, the 2002 Wimbledon champion knows how to summon his best at the Slams. He proved as much in his inspiring run to the fourth round of the Australian Open earlier this year. As for Tsonga, here's hoping he's taken nothing but positives away from his heartbreaking loss to Novak Djokovic in Paris. If he comes out firing on all cylinders and getting himself to the net, this will be a doozy.
No. 4 Andy Murray vs. Nikolay Davydenko (third match, Centre Court): If Ernests Gulbis can pull off an upset, surely Davydenko has one in him, right? The former No. 4 can play some impenetrable tennis when he wants to, and who knows, maybe he has it in him to knock out the hometown boy. Murray leads the head-to-head 5-4, but he went 0-3 in his grass-court lead-up matches. Questions loom about the state of his health, both mentally and physically, as he's come under intense scrutiny for his perceived tendency to exaggerate his niggles on court. The key for Murray will be to jump out ahead and not let the Russian (who has issues in the self-belief department) think it could be his day.
No. 7 Caroline Wozniacki vs. Tamira Paszek (fourth match, No. 2 Court): Here's my upset special. If Paszek has recovered physically and emotionally from her dramatic title run in Eastbourne, I just don't see any way Wozniacki walks away from this a winner. A quarterfinalist last year, Paszek knows how to play on grass, and her flat shots and willingness to go up the line should be enough to break down Wozniacki's defense.
No. 30 Andy Roddick vs. Jamie Baker (third match, No. 1 Court): Roddick renewed? The Eastbourne champ with the champs made quite the statement in not only snapping his six-match losing streak last week but also working his way to his first title of the year. Jamie Baker should be no match for Roddick, but I'm curious to see how he's moving at the moment. That's always the question these days. Roddick said he's been practicing well and he's happy with how he's hitting the ball. Now for the body to just cooperate.
Courtney's Pet Picks
