Former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova and last week’s maiden WTA champion Belinda Bencic, who claimed the Eastbourne title, are among the women to watch on the first day of Wimbledon 2015.

Belinda Bencic versus Tsvetana Pironkova:

Wimbledon has a reputation for being a relatively traditional major, where proceedings conform to a certain order.  But that reputation has not made it immune to early upsets, and a mild one could be brewing in the opening-round encounter between Belina Bencic and Tsvetana Pironkova.

To the casual observer, Pironkova probably does not appear to be much of a threat.  The Bulgarian is ranked just outside the top 40 with a semifinal showing in Sydney and a quarterfinal finish in Eastbourne as her greatest achievements to date this season.  Looks can be deceiving, however.  Regular tennis fans know that Pironkova becomes a different player when competing at Wimbledon.  It has easily been her best major.  She has made the second week in three of the last five years, including a semifinal appearance in 2010, and she has collected some stunning victories during those runs.  She will not hesitate to make Bencic a casualty in what she hopes will be another deep run at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Bencic is ranked just outside the top 30 and is clearly one of the young guns of the WTA who is on the rise.  She reached the third round of this event last season and went two rounds further at the 2014 US Open for her Grand Slam quarterfinal debut.  She has put in some respectable results in 2015, including round of 16 finishes at both Indian Wells and Miami, but it is her deep runs on the grass of 's-Hertogenbosch and Eastbourne that have her looking like a threat to go far at Wimbledon.

Aside from her play on the lawns in the weeks leading into Wimbledon, Bencic will also enter this match as the favorite because she is simply the better overall player, as evidenced by her superior ranking.  She is more solidly built and enjoys an advantage as the player who boasts the heavier weight of shot.  Additionally, the Swiss should be looking to engage Pironkova in as many forehand exchanges as possible, since Bencic's forehand is heads and shoulders above the Bulgarian's.

Despite most of the variables being in Bencic's favor though, Pironkova still holds some cards.  It is true that her forehand is one of the weakest among players in the top 100, but the grass will help her on that groundstroke.  She also has a bit more variety, and most importantly, she may simply have more belief in her chances.  As previously noted, she has enjoyed many fond memories at this tournament, and the kind of innate confidence that inspires can often see a competitor rise to a new level. Between her youth and upward trend, Bencic is also apt to be feeling optimistic, but she may not quite believe she is capable of conjuring the kind of magic Pironkova has at this venue the last few years.

Most signs point to Bencic grabbing the win as the better player and someone who is presently in stellar form.  But Pironkova has surprised in the past, and she could do so again.  Either way, both women will enter this match knowing that they must be prepared to put in some hard yards if they hope to make the second round.

Maria Sharapova versus Johanna Konta:

It is not uncommon to hear people talk about there being “something more than meets the eye.”  That could turn out to be the case in the first-round match that features Maria Sharapova against adopted home favorite Johanna Konta. 

At first glance, this might seem as close to a formality of reaching the second round for Sharapova as tennis can get.  The Russian is seeded fourth, and she is a former Wimbledon Champion, who has been ranked as high as No. 1.  She has a total of five major singles titles under her belt, as well as numerous other Premier titles, including one on the clay of Rome this spring.  She has already put together an illustrious career and will no doubt only continue to add to it.

When compared to Sharapova's achievements, it could be said that Konta is not even in the same league.  Once ranked as high as No. 89, the adopted Brit is currently ranked just inside the top 150 and needed a wildcard to compete at this year's Championships.  She has only advanced beyond the first round at a major on one occasion, and her strongest results have come at the ITF level.

With such a disparity between their respective records, it would appear almost certain that Sharapova should advance over Konta with little trouble.  She clearly has more experience on this stage.  She hits bigger off the ground and on the serve, and her flat ground trokes should prove even more penetrating on the lawns than some other surfaces.  In addition to that, she essentially does everything better than Konta.  If she is consistent, has a good returning day, and avoids donating too many double faults, there is no question that this match is mostly in her hands.

So where then does Konta find any belief that she could pull off what would amount to a colossal upset?  The first place would be from her play the last few weeks.  She made the quarterfinals in Nottingham as well as in Eastbourne, notching victories over Ekaterina Makarova and Garbiñe Muguruza in the latter event.  Furthermore, after facing down Muguruza, she is not apt to be phased by the firepower of the Russian, and she possesses a fair amount of weight behind her own shots.  She is also capable of injecting some nice spins and drop shots.  Most important and pivotal for Konta, though, will be the mental side of this match.  Sharapova does have more experience at this level, but she has also had her struggles this season.  By her own admission, Konta is feeling calm on the court, will take heart from what she has achieved in the tournaments leading into Wimbledon, and is likely to have nearly an entire stadium of fans doing their best to cheer her across the finish line. 

Suffice it to say, it is hard to envision this opening match ending in anything but a Sharapova victory.  She is the heavy favorite, and this is a match that she should win with relative ease.  But stranger things have happened, and if Konta finds a way to keep this encounter close, she might just prove that there is more to this match than meets the eye.