Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the WTA Wimbledon match.
Victoria Azarenka has never made it to a Wimbledon final, twice falling one step short. Now 37, this could be her final outing at the All England Club — and she’ll be determined to go out with a statement.
Victoria Azarenka
Azarenka arrives in excellent shape. In the Homburg qualifiers, she beat world No. 46 Veronika Kudermetova (6:7, 6:3, 6:4) and later pushed world No. 4 Iga Swiatek hard in the round of 16 (4:6, 4:6). Impressively, even against a top-tier opponent, Azarenka managed to win 54% of points on her serve — a stat that bodes very well for her clash with Zakharova.
Anastasia Zakharova
Zakharova, on the other hand, hasn’t looked convincing on grass this season. Five of her eight matches came in qualifying rounds. She did win all of them, but only one in straight sets — and against far weaker opposition. In her last match, she barely scraped past world No. 135 Tereza Valentova (7:6, 2:6, 7:6), hitting 36 unforced errors to 28 winners.
Victoria Azarenka vs Anastasia Zakharova Prediction
Experience will be the deciding factor here. Azarenka is in strong grass-court form and, thanks to her tactical intelligence, won’t allow the younger Zakharova to outrun or outplay her.
