Paris finalist Halep may face a tough battle in opener

Wimbledon women's singles
BBC1, BBC2 & BBCi, from 11.30am Monday

Erakovic v Halep
Second seed Simona Halep is the highest-ranking WTA Tour player in action on day one of Wimbledon and many have high hopes that the dual French Open finalist can improve on her 2014 semi-final placing at the All England Club.

Halep was timing the ball well on clay recently and ought to be on top of her game on grass too.

She reached the quarter-finals in Eastbourne, where she gave best to former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, but Halep may find her Wimbledon opener tougher than bookmakers expect.

Marina Erakovic, a New Zealander born in Croatia who Halep meets in the round of 128, has been faring better on grass after a slow start to the season.

The 29-year-old posted some decent victories over Denisa Allertova and Maryna Zanevska on the way to reaching the ITF Ilkley semi-finals last month.

Halep, who is expected to sweep aside Erakovic with little bother, is asked to give her opponent a start of 5.5 games on most bookmakers' handicaps.

Halep made light work of Erakovic in their only previous meeting – she was leading 6-2 3-0 when the Kiwi retired in a 2015 US Open clash – but the Romanian may have to work harder for victory in their second meeting and Erakovic could be worth backing with a start.

Recommendation
M Erakovic +5.5 games
1pt Evs Betfred

Haddad Maia v Robson
Erakovic fought back to defeat Laura Robson 6-7 6-3 6-2 in the first round of the Surbiton Trophy which took place a couple of weeks before Ilkley and it could be worth trying to find a way to support the Brit in her clash with Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia.

At her peak, Robson possessed some of the best groundstrokes on the WTA Tour and they helped her defeat Angelique Kerber and Maria Kirilenko at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2013 respectively.

Robson can be considered for the win, but her game and confidence has been at such a low ebb that it may be safer backing her to win at least a set.

Recommendation
L Robson to win a least a set
1pt 8-11 Betway