Roberta Vinci will be for a second time a top ten seed at a Grand Slam tournament, this time, her highest ever, six. Unfortunately for her, despite her high seed, she got handed a really tough draw that will see her coming up against grass court specialist Alison Riske. Riske is one of the most dangerous grass court players and if we keep in mind the Italian's recent slump, her fans can have high hopes for an upset.

Result comparison 

As the players have never met before this match, let's have a look at their recent results. On the one hand, we have Roberta Vinci. The Italian has been bustling with confidence since her huge win over Serena Williams in last year's US Open. She started the year by making the quarterfinals in the Brisbane International and equaling her best result at the Australian Open, as she reached the third round. The big results though came in February.

Then, she won her first Premier title in St Petersburg and made the quarterfinals at the Qatar Total Open, managing this way to make her top ten debut. At her 33 years, she became the oldest player to make her top ten debut ever. Since then, Vinci has not been that noisy, despite maintaining her place on top. She has made only one quarterfinal in Stuttgart and she dropped her opener in the second Grand Slam of the season in Paris. In her only grass court match this year she lost to Ekaterina Makarova in three tight sets in Eastbourne.

Roberta Vinci during the Nuremberg Open. Photo:Getty/Alex Grimm
Roberta Vinci during the Nuremberg Open. Photo:Getty/Alex Grimm

On the other hand, we have Alison Riske. The American started the year with a bang reaching the Final in Shenzhen. However, after that, she struggled to win matches for a long period, including a round one exit in both of the first Slams. Her only good result till the grass court season was the San Antonio semifinals. As the tour turned to grass, the grass court prodigy face turned up for Riske. She won the 50k ITF in Eastbourne and ran a nine-match win streak into the Nottingham final where she lost to Karolina Pliskova. So, she enters the third Grand Slam of the season with great preparation on her favorite surface.

Pliskova and Muguruza with the champion and runner-up trophy respectively in Nottingham. Photo:Getty/Jon Buckle
Pliskova and Muguruza with the champion and runner-up trophy respectively in Nottingham. Photo:Getty/Jon Buckle

Riske has had an awesome grass court revival, while in the same time the number six seed has a lot of question marks due to her recent results. 

Analysis

Without a past meeting between the two, we pretty much do not know what to expect. Vinci will definitely try to get to the net and use her flat forehand to manage it, while, at the same time, to trouble and force the errors out of her opponent with the slice of her backhand. Meanwhile, the American will try to be as aggressive as possible and make her counterpart stay back or hit her off the court.

Roberta Vinci during Wimbledon 2013. Photo:Getty/Julian Finney
Roberta Vinci during Wimbledon 2013. Photo:Getty/Julian Finney

The outcome of the match will lay on which face the two players bring to court. If Vinci continues the form with which she has entered her recent matches, she will be on the verge of the upset unless Riske puts on a bad face as well. If Vinci replicates the form of the season-start somehow,  she will be able to handle the Riske storm.

In general, although Vinci is the favorite on paper, Riske will have the edge on grass, especially if we consider the Italian's lack of form lately.

Prediction: Riske in straight sets

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About the author
Pan Mich
Just an enthusiastic WTA fan from Greece!