Wimbledon Day 5 picks, including Raonic vs. Kyrgios and Dimitrov vs. Gasquet

Ricky Dimon of The Grandstand and Parsa preview and pick the four best men’s singles matches on Friday at Wimbledon. A loaded slate is highlighted by Milos Raonic vs. Nick Kyrgios and Grigor Dimitrov vs. Richard Gasquet.

(26) Nick Kyrgios vs. (7) Milos Raonic

Ricky: Raonic is 2-0 lifetime against Kyrgios, 2-0 at slams, and 1-0 at Wimbledon (the Canadian is also 6-1 in total sets). They faced each other last year at the All-England Club and Raonic got the job done 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(4). For the most part it was routine following a first-set hiccup by the favorite. This time around, though, Kyrgios is a far more experienced player and he is not coming off the emotion of a career-defining win (over Rafael Nadal in the 2014 fourth round). Although this one will be even more competitive from start to finish, I still see Raonic coming out on top in another fourth-set tiebreaker. His serve is slightly more reliable than that of Kyrgios’ in the pressure-packed moments. Raonic 7-6(7), 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 7-6(6).

Parsa: Both players served extremely well in their first two Wimbledon matches, as each won more than 80 percent of first-serve points in his two respective matches. Raonic returned from minor foot surgery a few weeks ago at Queen’s Club and has been steadily gaining momentum with each set he has played while winning both of his first two matches in four sets. Kyrgios meanwhile, took out two Argentines with relative ease without dropping a set but has endured criticism for some of his antics on the court. Under regular circumstances, the much more focused and better-prepared Canadian would take care of business with relative ease against Kyrgios. But since he is coming off a layoff, this match will be interesting and could be decided by just a few important points. Raonic 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-3.

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(11) Grigor Dimitrov vs. (21) Richard Gasquet

Ricky: I picked Dimitrov to make the World Tour Finals at the beginning of this season. He has responded by compiling a pedestrian 21-12 record up to this point with zero titles. The Bulgarian is going to have to do a lot more than defeat Federico Delbonis and Steve Johnson in order to prove that he is finding some form. Dimitrov also has the pressure of defending Wimbledon semifinal points from 2014. Additionally, the head-to-head series stands at 4-0 in Gasquet’s favor. Granted they have not met since 2013, but still…. The Frenchman has always excelled on grass and he thoroughly destroyed Luke Saville and Kenny De Schepper in rounds one and two, respectively. Gasquet 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5.

Parsa: Dimitrov and Gasquet both enter this third-round meeting without having dropped a set, but what really sticks out in this battle of one-handed backhands is the head-to-head series. Although Gasquet leads it 4-0, none of their matches have been on grass. Dimitrov is facing some pressure as he reached the semifinals here last year and has had some struggles in 2015. Gasquet has demonstrated that he can play well at Wimbledon, having reached the semifinals in 2007, but since then he has not even returned to the quarters. This will be Dimitrov’s match for the taking and whether or not he shows up will likely determine who reaches the fourth round. Dimitrov 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

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(9) Marin Cilic vs. (17) John Isner

Ricky: Through two rounds Isner is 6-0 in total sets. He has fired 61 aces, double-faulted just four times, and is serving at 77 percent. Cilic, on the other hand, needed three hours and 34 minutes to get past Ricardas Berankis in five sets on Wednesday. As such, I’m going with Cilic…but in five sets instead of three (my pick for this match before the tournament started). The simple fact is that Cilic is a far superior grass-court player than Isner. The American’s two previous performances notwithstanding, he would much rather contest this one on clay or hard. Isner has done extremely well to conserve energy (an inability to do so has been his Grand Slam kryptonite), but I can’t see him outlasting Cilic deep in a fifth. Cilic 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(5), 4-6, 10-8.

Parsa: Cilic comes into this third-round matchup having narrowly escaped an upset against Berankis, winning 7-5 in the fifth. Isner, on the other hand, has cruised without dropping a set and has only played one tiebreaker. These two big servers have faced off in four previous matches, with Cilic coming out as the victor in all four. The 2014 U.S. Open champ has also won their last five tiebreakers. Grass helps Isner’s big serve, but it is still the American’s worst surface since he is a player that needs some extra time to set up his strokes before hitting the ball. On such a fast surface he is not afforded that extra time, especially on his return of serve, which is even more vulnerable against a great server like Cilic who has the ability to dominate on his serve. Cilic 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3.

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Marcos Baghdatis vs. (16) David Goffin

Ricky: This is one of those matches where I am just going with a hunch. For some reason–and probably not a good one!–I think Goffin will finally get on the scoreboard against Baghdatis. The Cypriot is dominating the head-to-head series 3-0 and he is doing so in extremely routine fashion. Two of his wins over Goffin have already come this season, too. It’s no secret that Baghdatis is strong on grass, but don’t underestimate the Belgian’s prowess on the green stuff. Goffin reached the third round in 2012, finished runner-up last month in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, and has been crushing people so far this fortnight (Horacio Zeballos and Liam Broady). Goffin 6-3, 2-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Parsa: Both players played well in their grass-court warmups, as Goffin reached the final in s-Hertogenbosch and Baghdatis advanced to the semis in Nottingham before retiring to eventual champion Denis Istomin after only three games because of a calf injury. Baghdatis, a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 2006, has not shown any effects of the injury as he beat Donald Young in four sets before coming back from a two-set deficit to defeat Aussie John Millman in five sets. Goffin won his first two matches comfortably with identical scores of 7-6, 6-1, 6-1. The Belgian looks poised to make his first fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon. Goffin 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

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