Iga or Aryna? Andy Roddick, Jon Wertheim predict entirely different outcomes on "Served" Wimbledon preview
The duo is back for another half-blind reaction to the recently released Grand Slam draw.
Andy Roddick and Jon Wertheim are at it again.
Just as the two had done for Roland Garros they’re making their picks for Wimbledon following the draw ceremony this week on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast.
While Wertheim has already gone through both the men’s and women’s draw, Roddick treated the audience to a blind reaction, expecting things “to get weird” on the women’s side.
“I hate this draw for Iga, and I realize even though I went off on why I don't like her on grass as much as the other surfaces, I still a really hard time picking against her,” Roddick said of Swiatek's quarter, which features defending champion Marketa Vondrousova.
“At Wimbledon she has to adjust her movement, she probably has to adjust her ball flight, especially on the forehand side a little bit more than she wants,” he said. “Second serve is extremely gettable especially on this surface. Basically, where you have to go to make her a little bit weaker is way more open on the grass, so it's not a mystery how you beat her, and it is easier to execute.”
He was nonetheless quick to name Swiatek and Vondrousova to meet in week two.
In the next quarter, Roddick predicts Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula, but gave an honorable mention to Katie Boulter for “the best year of her career.”
Looking at the bottom half, a resurgent Emma Raducanu jumped out as a potential spoiler in a section featuring Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen.
The 2021 US Open champion has picked up momentum through the grass-court season, reaching the semifinals and quarterfinals in Nottingham and Eastbourne, respectively, but faces a tough first round in No. 22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
“Alexandrova’s legit, that’s a brutal first round draw for Raducanu,” Roddick said. “Whoever wins that has [Elise] Mertens who is really capable on grass also. I don’t think [Maria] Sakkari’s getting through that section.”
Roddick mirrored the majority of the tennis.com team in learning hard on No. 3 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who worryingly revealed a nagging shoulder injury ahead of her return to SW19.
Roddick saved his biggest surprise for last, tagging Jessica Pegula to reach her first Grand Slam final, finishing runner-up to Sabalenka.
Wertheim, on the other hand, has Swiatek in the final against Gauff.
“Coco’s gonna have a nice first week, she's going to get her teeth into this tournament, Brad's going to get in her head and give her the pep talk, she's relaxed knowing she doesn't have to play Iga, if she plays her all it's not going to be until the trophy is on the court, then all she has to do is win twelve games. Boom,” he said.
Unlike the women’s draw that ended with entirely different predictions from Roddick and Wertheim, there were fewer debates about the men’s outcomes.
Immediately upon flipping over the draw, Roddick saw a Jannik Sinner, Matteo Berrettini potential second-round match, noting that Marton Fucsovics “gets the worst draws in majors.”
Sinner was the first quarterfinals pick, knocking out Alex Michelsen in the fourth round according to Roddick. Grigor Dimitrov was named as the Italian’s quarterfinal opponent, but not before shouting out Zhang Zhizhen for being the first Chinese man ever seeded at a major.
In the second quarter, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was picked just as quickly as world No. 1, and Tommy Paul was named as his quarterfinal opponent.
Into Andrey Rublev’s section and the bottom half of the draw, Roddick’s “all of a sudden looking at Musetti like a grass-courter after Queen’s,” where he was the finalist on grass for the first time in his career.
Although putting the Musetti into the fourth round, Roddick has Sebastian Korda overtaking him for a spot in the quarterfinals.
“Just for fun,” Roddick has Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda for an all-American quarterfinal battle.
In the bottom section, Novak Djokovic was a quick favorite to make it to the semifinals, barring health concerns, where he would face off against Taylor Fritz in Roddick’s draw. Fritz, in that case, would be into his first major semifinals.
On the other side of the draw, Roddick called a Sinner-Alcaraz semifinal matchup, with the Italian coming out on top.
In the predicted Italy-Serbia match for the title, Sinner wins his first Wimbledon title and second slam.
“We do these shows and these live look-ins, and I feel incredibly insecure by the end of them with my picks, always,” Roddick said.
The episode will air on T2 Sunday night, and in the interim, catch up on Expert Picks from our very own writers and editors.