Tennis Tips & Predictions

Flying the flag for Australia, Daria Kasatkina takes on rising Indonesian Janice Tjen – who has already eliminated a seeded player – in the second round at Wimbledon.  

On Wimbledon debut, world No.43 Tjen upset 22nd seed Leylah Annie Fernandez 6-1 7-6.  

There was little in her 1-4 grass-court build-up to suggest she was one to watch at Wimbledon, but the 24-year-old has been climbing the ranks over the past year – including a maiden WTA title at the Chennai Open in October. 

Kasatkina, meanwhile, needed three sets to snap a four-match losing streak and subdue 18-year-old qualifier Mimi Xu in the first round.  

Going 15-13 this season, Kasatkina has slipped to No.65. She was a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2018 but has not been past the third round since. Her grass-court CV includes the 2024 Eastbourne International title. 

Tjen’s significantly more impressive first-round showing makes her a more appealing pick in the Wimbledon Day 3 betting markets as a slight outsider, however.  

• Prediction: BACK TJEN TO WIN @ $2.00

An early blockbuster as 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova and women’s tennis’ newest grand slam winner, Mirra Andreeva, do battle in Wimbledon’s second round.  

Andreeva is 3-1 against Krejcikova, including a victory at Wimbledon in 2023 and most recently winning at the 2024 Ningbo Open. 

Arriving at Wimbledon on a limited build-up following her French Open triumph, fifth seed Andreeva overcame a tough match-up with Polish veteran Magda Linette in the first round, winning 7-5 6-4.  

Krejcikova swept aside British wildcard Hannah Klugman 6-1 6-4 on Monday. The 30-year-old had reached the Libema Open final before suffering a first-round upset at the hands of Kim Birrell at the Eastbourne International.  

Also a French Open champ, Krejcikova’s Wimbledon success two years ago was something of a surprise and remains her only WTA title since September 2023. She was eliminated in the third round in her Wimbledon defence last year.  

Meanwhile, world No.38 Krejcikova hasn’t beaten a top-10 opponent since the 2024 WTA Finals. A quarterfinalist her last year, Andreeva has won 10 of her 12 second-round matches at grand slams and will look to go up a gear against another quality player.  

• Prediction: BACK ANDREEVA TO WIN 2-0 @ $2.02 

Ageless legend Novak Djokovic and ailing superstar Stefanos Tsitsipas lock horns in one of the more intriguing second-round matches at Wimbledon.  

Djokovic boasts a 12-2 record against Tsitsipas, winning the last 10 straight. They last met at the Paris Olympics two years ago, while this is their first encounter on grass.  

In his first match since a third-round French Open loss to Joao Fonesca, Djokovic outlasted Yibing Wu 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4 in the first round. 

Tsitsipas, languishing at No.87, produced his best performance in some time to eliminate Hugo Gaston 6-1 6-4 6-2.  

The two-time slam finalist hasn’t been past the second round of a major since the 2024 French Open, while his best Wimbledon result was Round of 16 runs in 2018 and 2023.  

A seven-time Wimbledon champion, Djokovic has lost prior to the quarterfinals here just once since 2008 – a third-round loss in 2016. He went down to Jannik Sinner in the semis last year after featuring in four straight finals.  

Tsitsipas has two top-10 wins to his credit this season – beating Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur – but Djokovic on the Wimbledon greens looks a long way beyond him.  

• Prediction: BACK DJOKOVIC TO COVER THE GAMES HANDICAP (-5.5) @ $1.88

After a memorable all-Spanish showdown at the French Open, wunderkind Rafael Jodar and gritty veteran Pablo Carreno Busta square off again in Wimbledon’s second round.  

Nineteen-year-old Jodar came from two sets down to overrun 34-year-old Carreno Busta in the Round of 16 at Roland Garros.  

Losing to eventual champ Alexander Zverev in the quarters, world No.26 Jodar skipped the grass swing lead-in to Wimbledon but won his debut match at the tournament on Monday 6-3 6-3 7-5 against British wildcard Felix Gill.  

Former world No.10 Carreno Busta, currently 71st, was leading the dangerous Denis Shapovalov 6-3 7-6 when his opponent retired. Remarkably, it was the two-time US Open semifinalist’s maiden win at Wimbledon.  

Coming off his best grand slam run in four years last month – and the titanic struggle the pair engaged in there – $3.70 outsider Carreno Busta looks capable of pushing the young gun here.  

• Prediction: SGM – BACK JODAR TO WIN AND CARRENO BUSTA TO COVER THE GAMES HANDICAP @ $2.07