Kerber again sovereign?
The start into the third Grand Slam tournament was very decent for the German tennis cracks. Several players made it to the second round, among them Angelique Kerber, who, however, is holding back on her Wimbledon 2022 target, as experience has shown. On Wednesday, the number one in German women’s tennis will face Poland’s Magda Linette in the second round.
As the leader of the German women, it will be very important that Angelique Kerber stays in the tournament for a long time and the young women of the DTB can take their cue from her. But the 34-year-old 2018 Wimbledon champion will have to look to herself first to live up to her own standards.
What is also clear by now, though, is that no victory can be taken for granted with the former number one. Perhaps she has to fight even harder for her successes these days than she always did anyway. But we expect her to do the same on Wednesday and predict a German victory before the duel between Angelique Kerber and Magda Linette
The 30-year-old Pole is also already very experienced, but has rarely been able to gain her experience at the highest level. Wimbledon’s second round is already an achievement, even though she reached the third round in both 2019 and 2021. However, we think Wednesday is the end of the line for the Pole and assume that between Angelique Kerber and Magda Linette, you should be right in betting on a win for the German.
Angelique Kerber – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 19
Position in the seedings: 15
Boris Becker once described the Church Road facility as his living room. Angelique Kerber has a similar feeling when she returns to Wimbledon. Perhaps it’s that very special relationship you have with the hallowed turf once you’ve triumphed there. It’s not for nothing that the former world number one speaks of Wimbledon as a magical place.
Kerber starts like the fire brigade
In the run-up to the tournament, it was not at all clear how good Angelique Kerber’s form would be. She was only able to play three matches in Bad Homburg last week as preparation. But those who were successful at Wimbledon and know how to play there don’t need a lot of getting used to at Church Road and that was more than clear in the German’s opening match against Kristina Mladenovic from France.
The first set was a mixture of fireworks from Angie Kerber and a disastrous performance from the Frenchwoman. It took just 17 minutes for the German to take the first set 6-0. But whoever thought that it would go on like that was wrong. Mladenovic improved and Kerber was no longer quite so concentrated.
So the second round lasted almost three times as long before the 34-year-old German had done her duty with a 7:5. This extended her record at Wimbledon to 37-12 wins and her success at Church Road alone makes it clear that between Angelique Kerber and Magda Linette, the odds should be on the German to win.
Magda Linette – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 65
Seeded position: unseeded
Magda Linette is not a player who has made a big splash on the WTA Tour so far, despite being 30 years old. In her career, she has won two tournaments in the lowest category and was ranked 33rd as a carrier high in early 2020. In the meantime, the Pole has already dropped back a few places and goes into Wednesday’s match as a clear underdog.
Quick win in round one
Her record at Wimbledon is not exactly fearsome. After all, the Pole reached the third round in both 2019 and 2021. Yet her record at Church Road remains negative, now at 5-6 wins. That’s not even enough for us to predict a close match between Angelique Kerber and Magda Linette.
After all, the Pole has played two preparation tournaments for Wimbledon in Nottingham and Eastbourne and has won a total of three out of five matches. In the first round at Church Road, Magda Linette had to take to the hallowed turf against Mexican qualifier Fernanda Contreras Gomez. The Polish player had little trouble against the number 191 in the WTA rankings.
All in all, she was on the sacred turf for just over an hour in a clear 6:1 and 6:4 win. On a positive note, the Pole served very confidently throughout the match and did not have a single break point against her. However, the 30-year-old only put 60 percent of her first serve into the court. Angelique Kerber is more likely to capitalise on that than a qualifier.
Angelique Kerber – Magda Linette Direct comparison / H2H record
It was just over six weeks ago when Angelique Kerber and Magda Linette crossed paths for the first time so far on the WTA Tour. It was at the clay court tournament in Strasbourg, which both ladies played in preparation for the French Open. The two seeded players met in the quarter-finals.
In the run-up to the match, the German was even considered a slight outsider in this match and it also developed into a close match. Kerber won the first set 6-2 before Linette levelled the set at 6-4. After that, the German found her rhythm again, won this match and even secured the tournament victory in Strasbourg in the end.
Angelique Kerber – Magda Linette Tip
A few weeks ago, Magda Linette showed she is capable of making life difficult for Angelique Kerber as the German painstakingly prevailed in three sets in Strasbourg. But clay is also perhaps the former world number one’s weakest surface. Her relationship with the sacred grass at Wimbledon is completely different.
Angie Kerber prefers the fast courts and with her open nature, she can expect to have the Church Road crowd on her side as well.
Unlike in Strasbourg, Angelique Kerber is now the clear favourite in this match. If she can come close to matching her performance in the first set against Kristina Mladenovic, it should be a clear-cut affair. We have therefore decided to play the second round match between Angelique Kerber and Magda Linette with the betting odds on a 2:0 victory for the former Wimbledon winner.
