First up on Court 16 for Tuesday’s action at Wimbledon will be world number 243 and qualifier, Tamira Paszek, taking on Australian Casey Dellacqua. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary of this match from 8:30pm (AEST)
Paszek has actually been in quite good form in the lead up to Wimbledon, all be it against much lower ranked opponents. Her qualifying campaign saw three matches where she only dropped one set.
Before that, and since her unsuccessful qualifying campaign at the French Open, she has played grass court tournaments in Ilkley and Surbiton.
Whilst she has won most of the matches she has played, they have not been against opponents of any note, so it is hard to get a true reading on her form when she is pitted against someone like Dellacqua.
Paszek actually has a reasonably successful history at Wimbledon and it is by far her best Grand Slam. In seven cracks at Wimbledon she has made the quarter finals twice and the fourth round once. Her two quarter finals came in 2011 and then 2012, however in the last two years she has had a first round exit.
Paszek has been professional since 2005 and Dellacqua since 2002, yet they have only clashed with each other on two occasions. The last was in 2011 in Rome and they have never met at Wimbledon or in a Grand Slam.
It is hard to believe but once upon a time Paszek was ranked as high as 26th in the world.
Like Paszek, Dellacqua was once 26th in the world for female singles and has a wealth of experience to draw on as she enters her sixth Wimbledon tournament. Whilst there have been no great performances from Dellacqua at Wimbledon, her best effort a third round appearance in 2008. She will be keen to go places this year.
Her form in the lead up to Wimbledon on grass has been average at best, only winning three from six games against opponents she really should be beating. In saying that, Dellacqua does have about a 60 per cent win rate on grass courts, so she will take some confidence from that leading into this match.
In their last meeting Paszek managed to win 6-4, 6-4 in the straight sets. Before that they met three years earlier at Indian Wells, Dellacqua winning that one after Paszek retired.
The odds say that Dellacqua is favourite and that is pretty understandable all things considered.
Prediction: There will be a fight and Paszek will go in confident after a successful qualifying campaign, however Dellacqua will have far too much skill and talent for the Austrian. Experience will help Paszek push it to three sets though.
Dellacqua in three sets.
Join The Roar for live scores and commentary of this first round match at Wimbledon from 8:30pm (AEST) and don’t forget to join in by leaving your comments in the section below.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Full report after Sock v Groth.
Scott Pryde
Expert
STATS Match Duration: 56 Minutes Aces: Dellacqua 2 vs Paszek 1 Double Faults: Dellacqua 3 vs Paszek 4 1st serves in: Dellacqua 61% vs Paszek 57% 1st serve points won: Dellacqua 71% vs Paszek 56% 2nd serve points won: Dellacqua 65% vs Paszek 42% Break points: Dellacqua 4/5 vs Paszek 0/3 Winners; Dellacauq 19 vs Paszek 5 Unforced Errors: Dellacqua 18 vs Paszek 12 Total points won: Dellacqua 57 vs Paszek 38
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks for joining me for this one and I hope you enjoyed the coverage. Join me shortly when Sam Groth takes on Jack Sock. Link is below: http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/06/30/jack-sock-vs-sam-groth-2015-wimbledon-live-scores-blog/
Scott Pryde
Expert
Full report and stats to come. Thoughts on this game Roarers?
Scott Pryde
Expert
A trio of strong forehands puts Paszek under all sorts of pressure and there was no way she was getting to the third. Dominating performance from Dellacqua. CASEY DELLACQUA defeats TAMIRA PASZEK 6-2, 6-2
Scott Pryde
Expert
Dellacqua misses her first serve and then Paszek makes an error putting one wide. Dellacqua back on match point. Paszek 2 2 Dellacqua 6 5 - AD
Scott Pryde
Expert
Dellacqua now wins the next point before they trade points and we go to deuce. Paszek 2 2 Dellacqua 6 5 - Deuce
Scott Pryde
Expert
Dellacqua start with an awesome serve down the T and Paszek is then brought forward after getting a return in. Her next shot hits the net though. Dellacqua now forced onto the defensive and puts one into the bottom of the net before she ends up with a double fault. Paszek 2 2 - 30 Dellacqua 6 5 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Dellacqua to now serve for the match. Paszek 2 2 Dellacqua 6 5
Scott Pryde
Expert
A great serve now from Paszek and Dellacqua puts her return out. Paszek misses her first but will hold with Dellacqua putting a poor return into the net. Paszek 2 2 Dellacqua 6 5
Scott Pryde
Expert
Dellacqua now with an awesome return and Paszek puts her shot long. Got really cramped for room there. Paszek now misses her first serve before Dellacqua makes an unforced error putting a forehand into the net. Paszek 2 1 - 30 Dellacqua 6 5 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Dellacqua now with a drop shot off Paszek's serve and brings Paszek forward before she puts it into the net. Now a first serve is missed going down the T and Dellacqua after having Paszek under pressure puts a forehand long. Paszek 2 1 - 15 Dellacqua 6 5 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Dellacqua all over Paszek here with another smashing forehand and then a good serve but it ends in an unforced error with her putting a forehand into the net. Dellacqua now misses her first serve but a cracking second serve and Paszek puts her return into the net. Dellacqua one game away from winning this now. Paszek 2 1 Dellacqua 6 5
Scott Pryde
Expert
Dellacqua starts off her service game with a long rally that finishes with a crushing forehand down the line. She now serves very well to the outside and Paszek returns wide. Paszek 2 1 - 0 Dellacqua 6 4 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Hi Michael, Thanks for that mate. Dellacqua is on fire right at the moment. I hope she can. Looking the goods at the moment.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Paszek with a lovely serve down the T and then Dellacqua with a lobbed return bringing Paszek forward who hits a smashing forehand that Dellacqua had no chance of keeping in. She gets her next serve in and holds for the game. Dellacqua still well on top. Paszek 2 1 Dellacqua 6 4
Scott Pryde
Expert
Paszek back on serve and Dellacqua takes the first point before Paszek misses her first serve and then Dellacqua returns the second serve wide. The next serve is a good one and Dellacqua returns into the net. Paszek 2 0 - 30 Dellacqua 6 4 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
SCORE CORRECTION Paszek 2 0 Dellacqua 6 4
Scott Pryde
Expert
Dellacqua holds now finishing with a smashing wide ace. Paszek 2 0 Dellacqua 6 3
Michael
Guest
Hey Scott, Great commentary! Good to see Dellacqua having such a strong game to start the tournament. Hopefully she can win a few games and push a couple of higher ranker players later on.