Varvara Gracheva vs Aryna Sabalenka Prediction & Betting Tips - Wimbledon Qualification, England

Prediction published on 06/07/2023, 11:41  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 07/07/2023 at 00:00 in Tennis Predictions

Second seeded Aryna Sabalenka continues her bid to win a first Wimbledon title. The second round sees her take on unseeded Varvara Gracheva with the winner up against either 29th seed Irene Camila -Begu or Anna Blinkova in the last 32. Sabalenka has already won three titles this year and is currently top of the Live WTA Race. The 25-year-old has the chance to go to top spot in the overall rankings but will need to reach her first Wimbledon final and perhaps even go on to win the title. Sabalenka has already won the Australian Open this year but has only once got past the second round at Wimbledon. That was in 2021 when reaching the semi-final and losing to Karolina Pliskova. Being from Belarus, Sabalenka was banned from playing in last year's tournament. Her only grass court warm-up this year was in Berlin where she lost in the last 16 to Veronika Kudermetova. The first round of this grass court Grand Slam saw her beat Panna Uvardy for the loss of only four games.

Varvara Gracheva began this tournament ranked a career high 41st in the world. Now representing France, the 22-year-old has made it past round one at Wimbledon for the first time in her career. Her only other appearance was in 2021 when losing in the first round to Petra Martic after winning the first set. Like Sabalenka, she was banned last year for being a Russian citizen. This year has seen her steadily rise up the rankings after beginning 2023 in 100th place. One final has been reached this year, that being in the ATX Open. Her only grass court warm-up event was in Bad Homburg where she lost to Lucia Bronzetti in the last eight. The first round saw Gracheva beat Camila Giorgi without dropping a set. We go for Sabalenka to win this in straight sets.