Aryna Sabalenka vs Marie Bouzkova Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Sabalenka faces former Wimbledon quarter-finalist in R2

Centre Court action on Wednesday kicks off with this potentially fascinating encounter between top seed Sabalenka and 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finalist Bouzkova, who has beaten Sabalenka within the last 12 months and a very capable grass courter. This year's Championships have been full of upsets on both the men's and women's sides, including second seed Coco Gauff losing on this court on Tuesday in her opening round. Could lightning strike twice?

I'm not prepared to say Sabalenka is crashing out like Gauff, but this could be a tough match for the top seed. Bouzkova, as mentioned, knows her way around a grass court and she's tasted success against the World No. 1 recently. The Czech has nothing to lose and knocked out last year's Wimbledon quarter-finalist Lulu Sun in her opening match. Sabalenka's firepower and overall consistency in slam early rounds means she's the deserved heavy favourite, but I'm backing Bouzkova to cover a big +6.5 games line on grass.

Sabalenka leads 2-1, but Bouzkova prevailed in three sets in the semi-finals of Washington last year and covered a +6.5 line as Sabalenka registered a 6-4 6-3 victory in Brisbane to start 2025.

Sabalenka comes into this showdown with a dominant 43-8 record on the season, maintaining her status as the undisputed World No. 1.

However, Sabalenka has experienced her fair share of heartbreak in 2025, losing two Grand Slam finals against Madison Keys at the Australian Open and Coco Gauff at Roland Garros.

Having never made the final at Wimbledon (or even won a grass court title for that matter), Sabalenka will be putting everything into this fortnight - even more so after seeing the substantial number of upsets, including second seed Gauff, in the opening round.

Sabalenka wasn't close to becoming a first round victim herself, easing past qualifier Carson Branstine 6-1 7-5, improving to 19-0 in Grand Slam opening rounds over the last five-and-a-half years.

Bouzkova heads into this clash with a 16-13 record on the season, remaining inside the top 50 despite the lack of stand-out results.

The Czech hasn't really made an impact anywhere this season, but solid results such as quarter-finals in Brisbane and Bogota, along with third round finishes at Roland Garros and Rome, means she's still nestled inside the top 50 at No. 48.

Bouzkova only played one warm-up tournament on grass at Eastbourne last week, but suffered an opening round defeat to Anna Blinkova.

Ultimately, the lack of grass matches didn't matter as Bouzkova toppled Lulu Sun 6-4 6-4 in her Wimbledon opener. After running into Gauff in the third round of Roland Garros last month, Bouzkova now must face another top seed early at Wimbledon.