Wimbledon 2015: Predictions for Top Matches on Wednesday's Schedule
The top seeds survived Monday's first-round action at Wimbledon 2015 without any real shocks, so the big names in the first half of the draw are set to light up SW19 again on Wednesday.
On the men's side, Novak Djokovic, Kei Nishikori and French Open champion Stan Wawrinka are all set to feature, while former champions Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova headline the women's action.
Here are the men's and women's schedules for Wednesday and a closer look at some of the most exciting matchups.
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| No. 1 Novak Djokovic | vs. | Jarkko Nieminen |
| No. 27 Bernard Tomic | vs. | Pierre-Hugues Herbert |
| No. 24 Leonardo Mayer | vs. | Marcel Granollers |
| No. 14 Kevin Anderson | vs. | Marsel Ilhan |
| No. 9 Marin Cilic | vs. | Ricardas Berankis |
| No. 17 John Isner | vs. | Matthew Ebden |
| Denis Kudla | vs. | Alexander Zverev |
| No. 5 Kei Nishikori | vs. | Santiago Giraldo |
| No. 4 Stan Wawrinka | vs. | Victor Estrella Burgos |
| No. 32 Dominic Thiem | vs. | Fernando Verdasco |
| Marcos Baghdatis | vs. | John Millman |
| No. 16 David Goffin | vs. | Liam Broady |
| No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov | vs. | Steve Johnson |
| No. 21 Richard Gasquet | vs. | Kenny de Schepper |
| No. 26 Nick Kyrgios | vs. | Juan Monaco |
| No. 7 Milos Raonic | vs. | Tommy Haas |
| No. 1 Serena Williams | vs. | Timea Babos |
| Daniela Hantuchova | vs. | Heather Watson |
| No. 19 Sara Errani | vs. | Aleksandra Krunic |
| No. 16 Venus Williams | vs. | Yulia Putintseva |
| Jelena Ostapenko | vs. | Kristina Mladenovic |
| No. 23 Victoria Azarenka | vs. | Kirsten Flipkens |
| No. 30 Belinda Bencic | vs. | Anna-Lena Friedsam |
| No. 7 Ana Ivanovic | vs. | Bethanie Mattek-Sands |
| No. 4 Maria Sharapova | vs. | Richel Hogenkamp |
| No. 29 Irina-Camelia Begu | vs. | Lesia Tsurenko |
| Zarina Diyas | vs. | Aliaksandra Sasnovich |
| No. 15 Andrea Petkovic | vs. | Marina Duque Marino |
| No. 11 Karolina Pliskova | vs. | Coco Vandeweghe |
| No. 22 Samantha Stosur | vs. | Urszula Radwanska |
| Sloane Stevens | vs. | Lauren Davies |
| No. 6 Lucie Safarova | vs. | Hsieh Su-wei |
No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. Jarkko Nieminen
The world No. 1 overcame a tricky opening-round match with Philipp Kohlschreiber, triumphing 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
The German forced the Serbian to work for his victory, and Kohlschreiber's spirited performance made proceedings far from comfortable for Djokovic.
According to Piers Newbery of BBC Sport, Djokovic said after the match: "He can be very tricky on all the surfaces, especially grass, and had nothing to lose but I managed to stay composed. I made the crucial breaks at 5-4 in all three sets, so hopefully it can stay that way for me."
Per Tennis journalist Chris Goldsmith, Djokovic's performance did not impress former British No. 1 Tim Henman:
A cause for concern could be the 20 unforced errors made by the 28-year-old. While the Djoker is more than capable of stepping up several gears, such loose play would be punished by a fellow contender for the title.
Djokovic will need to be on guard in his second-round clash with Jarkko Nieminen.
The 33-year-old is an experienced player who once ranked 13th in the world, and he has made it the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam on three occasions.
Nieminen made headlines last year when he beat Bernard Tomic in just 28 minutes and 20 seconds, the fastest Masters Tour match in the Open Era.
Djokovic is likely to improve his level of performance with each match of the tournament, however, and is experienced enough to avoid complacency against his less illustrious opponent.
Prediction: Djokovic wins 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 Kei Nishikori vs. Santiago Giraldo
Nishikori also faced a strong opponent in his first match in the form of Simone Bolelli, and Japanese star's leg injury, which he has been suffering with since before the tournament, compounded the trickiness of the tie.
The 25-year-old required five sets to overcome the Italian for the second straight year at Wimbledon, beating him 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Per Sports Illustrated's Courtney Nguyen, Nishikori is confident he will recover from his injury, however:
In the second round, he will face Santiago Giraldo, who dismissed Joao Souza in straight sets.
The Colombian is currently ranked 66th in the world, but as recently as last September, he found himself as high as 28th.
Giraldo appeared to be in good form during his opening match, but Nishikori possesses a 6-1 head-to-head record with the 27-year-old, including in the Barcelona Open final last year, and stands an excellent chance of extending it on Wednesday.
Nishikori's injury has the potential to throw a spanner in the works, but if he can cope with it, he has enough quality to overcome Giraldo.
Prediction: Nishikori wins 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
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