Wimbledon 2015: Wednesday Schedule and Predictions for London Bracket

Monday was easy for Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic. Wednesday's matches aren't expected to push the top seeds to their limit either, but a slightly stiffer task might await Williams and Djokovic in the second round.

After dismissing Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Monday, Djokovic will tangle with Jarkko Nieminen with a berth in the third round at stake. Djokovic has won five of the six career meetings with Nieminen, including a 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 victory at the 2015 French Open.

Over the last six years, Djokovic has proven to be impervious to the early-round upset in Grand Slam events. He's reached the quarterfinals in every major event since he was eliminated in the third round of the 2009 French Open.

That's a remarkable and consistent run. Don't bet on Nieminen breaking Djokovic's streak.

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Pavel Golovkin/Associated Press

Williams made quick work of Margarita Gasparyan in the first round, 6-4, 6-1. Though she wasn't at her sharpest (19 unforced errors), Williams still finished off her Russian opponent in an hour and 23 minutes.

On Wednesday she'll lock horns with Timea Babos. Like the match with Gasparyan, this will be the first time Williams has faced her opponent. That's a testament to Williams' longevity in the sport. When a player has been around just under 20 years as Williams has, they will start to see the beginnings of other players' careers and commence new rivalries.

Such is the case in this battle against the 22-year-old Babos.

While we don't have a frame of reference to draw from in this matchup, we can say that, barring an implosion of self-inflicted errors from Williams, there doesn't appear to be a chance the top seed falls in this match. This is the first time Babos has advanced beyond the first round in any Grand Slam event. The experience and talent advantage are firmly on the side of Williams.

If Williams goes on to win Wimbledon this year, she would be tied with the legendary Steffi Graf with 22 Grand Slam singles titles. That's the most in the Open era.

Per David Waldstein of the New York Times, Williams understands the gravity of the potential accomplishment but sounds reluctant to get ahead of herself:

“It’s definitely historic, I guess,” Williams said. “But it’s also six matches away. It’s definitely not guaranteed.”

Babos will be trying her best to slow Williams' ascension to yet another of the sport's lofty records.

Below is a look at the prominent matches on tap for Wednesday with predictions for each. To see the full schedule, check out Wimbledon.com. You can see the draw for both sides here.

Match	Prediction
No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. Jarkko Nieminen	Djokovic
No. 5 Kei Nishikori vs. Santiago Giraldo	Nishikori
No. 1 Serena Williams vs. Timea Babos	Williams
No. 7 Milos Raonic vs. Tommy Haas	Raonic
No. 4 Stan Wawrinka vs. Victor Estrella Burgos	Wawrinka
No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov vs. Steve Johnson	Dimitrov
No. 4 Maria Sharapova vs. Richel Hogenkamp	Sharapova
No. 16 Venus Williams vs. Yulia Putintseva	Williams
No. 9 Marin Cilic vs. Ricardas Berankis	Cilic
No. 7 Ana Ivanovic vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands	Ivanonvic
Sloane Stephens vs. Lauren Davis	Stephens

Match of the Day

Sloane Stephens vs. Lauren Davis

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

A match between two of the top young American women in the sport has the potential to be the best match of the day. The 22-year-old Sloane Stephens will face 21-year-old Lauren Davis; all three of these ladies' previous matches have gone three sets.

Davis owns a 2-1 edge on the strength of her 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory in February at the Auckland Open. Stephens has the edge in this match because she's playing the best she has since 2013 when she upset Serena Williams at the Australian Open.

In her last four tournaments—Wimbledon included—Stephens is 11-3 and she's advanced to the round of 16 in the three preceding events. Her only losses came to Agnieszka Radwanska, Williams and Samantha Stosur. 

Stephens has seemingly turned the corner in her career, and she's the smart pick to win this round of her rivalry with Davis.