Victoria Azarenka vs Sloane Stephens – Wimbledon Tennis Prediction and Pick 7/1/24

Victoria Azarenka and Sloane Stephens clash in the first round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. The match is schedule for Monday, July 1st, 2024. Here’s our Victoria Azarenka vs Sloane Stephens prediction.

Victoria Azarenka vs Sloane Stephens Preview

Victoria Azarenka is a two-time semi-finalist at Wimbledon and reached the second week of the tournament last year before losing to an inspired Elina Svitolina. The Belarusian star is now very much a veteran on Tour, although her desire and hunger to compete at the highest level remain undiminished. In fact, Azarenka arrives at the 2024 edition firmly inside the Top 20.

She has played one warm-up tournament on grass in Berlin, where she defeated Maria Sakkari, Zeynep Sonmez, and Elena Rybakina (retirement) before losing in the semifinal to Anna Kalinskaya in three sets. Azarenka will face a familiar foe in her opening match on Monday.

Her opponent will be Sloane Stephens, who is ranked 45th in the world rankings and who was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon 11 years ago. Stephens has struggled to play her best tennis on grass throughout her career, failing to navigate into the second week at Wimbledon since that breakthrough in 2013. 

Like Azarenka, Stephens is a veteran and a decorated WTA Tour player. This is her 15th season on the professional circuit, and she has a Grand Slam title to her name (she won the 2017 US Open). 

Victoria Azarenka vs Sloane Stephens Head-To-Head

• Azarenka leads Stephens 5-4 in their head-to-head.

• This has been such an interesting rivalry because they have played four times at Grand Slam level before, with the Belarusian also holding the edge 3-1.

• This will be their first official meeting on grass.

Victoria Azarenka vs Sloane Stephens Prediction 

It’s a clash between two Grand Slam winners right off the bat. And what a spectacle we will have here. As much as Azarenka is a counterpuncher, she is very aggressive from the baseline, which is a major plus, especially on grass. I can see the 16th seed obliterating Stephens’ second serve in this match. Given her pedigree, Stephens is supposed to be a dangerous unseeded player, but the American produced a lackluster performance during her defeat to Emma Raducanu in Eastbourne, which should give Azarenka plenty of belief that she will avoid an upset.