The second day of play at Wimbledon 2016 will bring more WTA stars to the courts, with World No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska as one entrant who’s eager to regain her optimal form at the All England Club.
Can Radwanska get her Wimby run on the right foot by dispatching Kateryna Kozlova this Tuesday? Let’s find out more about this upcoming matchup below. And for more women’s singles first-round coverage, check out our previews for Vandeweghe vs. Bondarenko and Wozniacki vs. Kuznetsova right after this.
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This season, Agnieszka Radwanska has seen her share of highs and lows. On one hand, she has cracked the top three of the world rankings for the first time in about four years. On the other, she has not found much success since winning her first title of the year at Shenzhen in January.
Like much of the WTA field, Radwanska’s progress has been stymied by the ultimate roadblock: Serena Williams. She lost to Williams in two semi-final encounters this season: at the Australian Open and at Indian Wells. It was also Serena who denied the Pole her first-career Grand Slam title back at the final stage of Wimbledon in 2012.
But now’s not the time to start worrying about another possible date with the best female tennis player in the world. Aga has got to focus on bringing out her best stuff on grass, which is where she has had the most success in her career. Radwanska sports a healthy 36-10 lifetime record at Wimbledon, with her 78-percent winning percentage there being her best amongst all four Grand Slam tourneys.
Furthermore, the 27-year-old righty has never had a losing season on grass, including going a smashing 12-3 on the lush turf last season. With that in mind, Radwanska’s outlook for the rest of the tournament is bright, and taking her at +2,000 to win Wimbledon could very well reap a massive return.
At 22 years of age, Kateryna Kozlova still has plenty of time to develop her skills, barring any more setbacks like her six-month suspension from testing positive for a doping substance in 2015.
Kozlova has a respectable professional record of 181-105 (mostly through the ITF circuit and not the WTA, though), and will try to capitalize on Radwanska’s sputtering form heading into Wimbledon. We bet the Ukranian must be thrilled about the fact that the likes of unheralded players in Laura Siegemund and Tsvetana Pironkova have recently upended the World No. 3.
However, Kozlova’s experience pales in comparison to those two players, specifically when it comes to big-time tournaments. She has already failed to qualify for the Australian and French Opens this season, and only has one other Grand Slam appearance in her career: an early first-round exit at the U.S. Open last year.
Having said that, perhaps there’s no good reason to go out on a limb and make Kozlova a dark-horse pick at Wimbledon this year. She still has much to learn, and Radwanska could very well take her to back to school this Tuesday with a crash course on Lawn Tennis 101.
Writer’s Prediction
Radwanska (-2,000) advances to the second round with an effortless straight-sets victory.
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