PETE ZIEBRON
World number 25 Daria Gavrilova of Australia enters 2018 Wimbledon with just a single victory at the All England Club in three years. In fact, she has won just five matches in ten appearances at the majors that have not been contested in Melbourne. Two of those five wins occurred last month at Roland Garros.
The 24 year-old Russian born Gavrilova appeared in three finals in 2017 and won the first title of her career in New Haven. The week prior to New Haven, I attended Gavrilova's 2nd round match in Cincinnati against qualifier Camila Giorgi of Italy. The Aussie competed well before running out of steam in the final set, losing 6-7(1) 7-5 3-6. Sitting near Gavrilova's camp, she shared her frustration of not being able to handle the Italian's pace, stating "She just crushes it."
Gavrilova's lone win at Wimbledon came two years ago when she defeated Qiang Wang of China in three sets before falling in straights to Dominika Cibulkova in the next round. This year, the Aussie is seeded 26th and opens play against Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan. The two have met twice before, both in 2016 and the series is squared at one apiece.
Should Gavrilova advance, she may play countrywoman Samantha Stosur in the second round. This would be the fourth time in 2018 that they would meet. Stosur has won the last two contests and holds a 3-2 lead in their head to head matchups.