Wimbledon 2021: Aryna Sabalenka vs Monica Niculescu preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (2) Aryna Sabalenka vs Monica Niculescu

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: 1:00 pm local time, 12:00 pm GMT, 8:00 am EST, 5.30 pm IST

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

Aryna Sabalenka vs Monica Niculescu preview

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka will launch her bid for the 2021 Wimbledon title when she takes on the tricky Monica Niculescu on Monday.

Sabalenka has had a stellar season so far, winning a couple of titles. But her success has been limited to hardcourt and clay. Grass presents a different challenge for the Belarusian, whose only noteworthy performance on this surface was a runner-up finish at Eastbourne in 2018.

That said, the World No. 4's game has improved on grass of late. This was evident in her run to the quarterfinals at the Eastbourne International last week. Sabalenka cruised past Alison Riske and Bernarda Pera before suffering a tight three-set loss to grasscourt specialist Camila Giorgi.

Meanwhile, Monica Niculescu, who was once ranked as high as No. 28 in the world, is now languishing at 191. The 33-year-old has a 14-10 win-loss record for the season, with her best performance coming in an ITF $100,000 grasscourt event last week, where she won three matches starting from qualifying.

The Romanian will hope to carry that form into Wimbledon, where she made the fourth round in 2015.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Monica Niculescu head-to-head

Aryna Sabalenka leads Monica Niculescu 1-0 in the head-to-head. The Belarusian beat the Romanian 6-4, 6-4 at Shenzhen in 2018.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Monica Niculescu prediction

With an unorthodox forehand slice and topspin backhand, Monica Niculescu has the tools to disrupt Sabalenka's rhythm and potentially pull off an upset. A proficient doubles player, the Romanian has great handskills and will look to come forward at every opportunity.

However, she isn't the most consistent of players and could be overwhelmed by Sabalenka's power. The Belarusian has been quite solid over the course of the season and if she can keep the unforced errors at bay, she should come through this one without too much trouble.

Prediction: Aryna Sabalenka to win in two sets.