Wimbledon 2021: Sofia Kenin vs Xinyu Wang preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (4) Sofia Kenin vs (Q) Xinyu Wang

Date: 28 June 2021

Tournament: The Championships, Wimbledon

Round: First round (Round of 128)

Venue: London, Great Britain

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Grass

Prize money: £17,066,000

Match timing: Approx. 1 pm local time, 12 pm GMT, 8 am EST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - BBC TV & Radio | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP

Sofia Kenin vs Xinyu Wang preview

Fourth seed Sofia Kenin opens her Wimbledon 2021 campaign on Monday against Chinese qualifier Xinyu Wang.

The American is in desperate need of a good run in London. After an incredibly successful 2020 season in which she won the Australian Open, finished runners-up at Roland Garros and picked up the WTA Player of the Year award, Kenin has failed to kick on this year.

The 22-year-old was knocked out of the Australian Open in the second round and has since been plagued by injuries and illness. She entered Roland Garros with tempered expectations, but managed to reach the fourth round before bowing out to eventual semifinalist Maria Sakkari.

The American has not, however, played a single grasscourt event to fine-tune her game ahead of the Championships.

Xinyu Wang

Kenin's first-round opponent Xinyu Wang is relatively unknown on the tour. The 19-year-old was successful in juniors, particularly in doubles, and has four ITF titles under her belt.

Wang had a solid run in the Wimbledon qualifiers. She won each of her three matches without dropping a set and had her serve broken just three times.

Sofia Kenin vs Xinyu Wang head-to-head

The first-round encounter at Wimbledon will be the first match between Sofia Kenin and Xinyu Wang, so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.

Sofia Kenin vs Xinyu Wang prediction

By dint of her superior ranking and experience, Sofia Kenin enters this match as the favorite.

Kenin's incredible foot-speed and variety make her a threat on any surface. However, her lack of match practice on grass this year could work against her.

Sofia Kenin

Xinyu Wang, on her part, will look to take the game to Kenin. The Chinese, hungry for a first main draw win at a Major, will hope to capitalize on any lapses on Kenin's part. The American has a tendency to spray errors when things are not going her way.

But if the American can stay focussed and keep her unforced error count low, the match should go her way.

Prediction: Sofia Kenin to win in three sets.