Ekaterina Makarova is struggling in 2016 in singles competition and subsequently, she has dropped out of the top 32 rankings and therefore she will be unseeded at Wimbledon.
Makarova is a former champion at the Aegon International in Eastbourne as she won the title against future two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka in the final back in 2010.
Andrea Petkovic like Makarova will be unseeded at Wimbledon after suffering poor results in the clay court season and an early French Open exit which led to her fall in the rankings.
Makarova's 2016 results
The unseeded Russian lost to Petkovic in Brisbane at the start of the year and she was defending semifinalist points at the Australian Open but she lost to surprise semifinalist Johanna Konta in the fourth round in three sets.
Makarova suffered first round losses to Madison Brengle at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships and to Petkovic again at the Qatar Total Open in Doha.
During the North American hardcourt swing, Makarova had a bye in the first round at the BNP Paribas Open and Lucie Hradecka was defeated in the second round by the Russian. Makarova's progress through the draw was halted by 5th seed Simona Halep in the third round.
At the Miami Open, Makarova's results continued to improve by defeating Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina en route to the quarterfinals, when but she lost to her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova.
During the clay court season, Makarova lost to Roberta Vinci in the first round in Stuttgart, Aleksandra Krunic in the second round in Rabat and second round losses to clay court specialists Timea Bacsinszky and Garbine Muguruza at the Mutua Madrid Open and Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome respectively.
At Roland Garros, Makarova lost to Yanina Wickmayer in the second round and she failed to defend her fourth round points from last year.
How they got here
The 2011 Wimbledon quarterfinalist defeated lucky loser Zheng Saisai coming back from a set down to be victorious 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 in the first round and Petkovic followed this win by defeating 13th seed Sara Errani 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
Makarova, a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon back in 2014 defeated Britain's Tara Moore in straight sets in the first round and the slumping 2nd seeded Italian Roberta Vinci in three sets.
Both players will have been used to the conditions at the Aegon International in Eastbourne, which means this match could be even as they have both played two matches.
Their history
Petkovic and Makarova have played each other four times and all of their meetings have come on hard courts. The German leads their head-to-head 4-0.
Their first meeting was in Istanbul back in 2010 at the round of 16 stage which Petkovic won in three sets, their second meeting also happened in the fourth round and it was at the Miami Open which was won by Petkovic 6-1, 7-5 last year.
The last two meetings took place in Brisbane and in Doha this year which was won by Petkovic once again in straight sets.
Who wins
Both players are used to reaching the latter stages of Grand Slam tournaments but with inconsistent results throughout the year, it has caused them to fall out of the top 32 and be unseeded at Wimbledon.
Makarova has struggled with Petkovic over the years as Petkovic likes to mix up her play by using the drop shot sometimes and having long rallies.
The Russian has a good lefty serve and it works well on grass which could trouble Petkovic.
Both players need a need a good run in Eastbourne going into Wimbledon but since they are unseeded, they could prove to be a problem for one of the big seeds.
The Russian has never beaten Petkovic before but on grass, this could be her best chance to do it.
The battle between former Grand Slam semifinalists takes place on Centre Court at the approximate time of 5pm local.
Prediction: Makarova in three sets.