Rafael Nadal vs Francisco Cerundolo 6/28/22 Wimbledon Tennis Picks, Predictions, Odds

Francisco Cerundolo and Rafael Nadal meet in the first round of the 2022 tennis Wimbledon.

Francisco Cerundolo is coming off a first round loss in Eastbourne and has lost 5 of his last 7 matches overall. In his 3 set loss to Tommy Paul, Cerundolo struggled with his second serve, was broken 4 times and hit 6 double faults. The good news for Cerundolo is that his last 2 losses went the distance, so he’s at least competing despite the results. Still, Cerundolo needs something to go his way for him to feel better about the way he’s playing. Cerundolo looks to win his first ever grand slam match, as he’s 0-2 in previous tries. Cerundolo has 2 career wins over players who were ranked in the top-10. Cerundolo has split his last 6 matches on grass court.

Rafael Nadal hasn’t played an official match since winning the French Open, but he did have a pair of exhibitions against Wawrinka and Auger-Aliassime, so he has recent reps on grass. Nadal has been dealing with a chronic knee injury, but these softer surfaces should help ease the pain a bit. However, it’s important to note that Nadal’s 81 percent winning percentage at Wimbledon makes this his worst grand slam. We should get a good feel for Nadal rather quickly in terms of his fitness. Nadal hasn’t lost in the first round of a grand slam since the 2016 Australian Open. Nadal hasn’t lost in the first round of Wimbledon since 2013. Nadal has won 6 of his last 8 matches on grass court. 

There’s no match history between these two players.

Cerundolo is a respectable first round opponent, as he’s a top-50 player, and he did make the semifinals in Miami. He’s not your typical cakewalk for a top seeded opponent. With that said, Cerundolo doesn’t have a ton of big match experience, and he’s got a steep hill to climb here. Nadal is rested and should be ready to go. 

The only bet Id have here is to side with Nadal in straight sets.