Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will continue their Wimbledon campaigns on Friday, when spots in the fourth round are at stake. They are set for respective meetings with Fabio Fognini and Sam Querrey.
(1) Andy Murray vs. (28) Fabio Fognini
Murray and Fognini will be facing each other for the seventh time in their careers and for the second time in less than two months when they meet again during third-round action at Wimbledon on Friday. The head-to-head series is all tied up at three wins apiece following Fognini’s dominant 6-2, 6-4 performance at home in Italy (Rome Mastes). Two of Fognini’s victories have come on clay (also in the 2014 Davis Cup competition), while one has taken place on a hard court (2007 Rogers Cup).
Based on the surface and setting, the tide is likely to swing emphatically back in Murray’s favor. The top-ranked Scot is playing at home in London and has lifted three trophies on the grass courts of the All-England Club (two at Wimbledon and one at the 2012 Olympics). Murray has struggled just a bit this year and headed into Wimbledon with a minor hip issue, but he had no trouble crushing Alexander Bublik and Dustin Brown in his first two matches. Fognini is a competent but unspectacular 10-8 lifetime at the season’s third Grand Slam and this is his third trip to the third round. The 29th-ranked Italian has never progressed to the second week and there is no reason to think he will do so for the first time at Murray’s expense.
Pick:Â Murray in 3
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(12) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. (24) Sam Querrey
Neither Tsonga nor Querrey is any stranger to Wimbledon drama, and that includes against each other. During second-round action in 2012, Tsonga survived a 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-3, 14-12 marathon. The Frenchman ended up losing in the fourth round that year, but he is a two-time semifinalist at the All-England Club (2011, 2012) and has reached the quarterfinals on two other occasions (2010, 2016). Tsonga, who registers at 10th in the world, improved to 25-7 this season with straight-set victories over Cameron Norrie and Simone Bolelli earlier in the week.
Querrey, of course, famously upset Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon third round last summer. The 28th-ranked American kicked off his 2016 run by beating Lukas Rosol 12-10 in the fifth set and he has played six five-setters in his career in SW19–including four that have progressed to at least 7-7 (and one that ended in a 17-15 loss to Marin Cilic). Querrey has minimized the physical damage so far this fortnight, taking care of Thomas Fabbiano in straight sets and Nikoloz Basilashvili in four. As such, he should be in it for the long haul against Tsonga–who has cooled off dramatically since capturing back-to-back February titles in Rotterdam and Marseille.
Pick:Â Querrey in 5
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Andy better get it done in 3. Fognini already won 2 matches…Fabulous will try, I think.
Querrey in 5.
Murray in 3 but Fognini’s been in pretty good form. Murray should be too steady for 3 straight sets.
Tsonga in 4. Tsonga’s pretty good at Wimbledon and is a 3:1 better player than Querrey when both playing well.
Andy in four and Tsonga in five
Murray in 3 sets.
Tsonga in 4 sets.
Andy in four, something like 76 57 64 62.
The other one is 50 50 .Tsonga the better player overall, but maybe not at his best . Slight edge to Querrey in a repeat of their five setter here a few years ago.
At least I hope its Querrey, I picked him in my bracket!
Well done me !
big jo and andy in four…. had a shocker of a day yesterday with some of my picks
Im very interested in this match. Fognini is in top form. If Murray gets thru in 3 he’s on target.
Yeah I think Fog will test him more than most expect. He’s locked in this week and is a shotmaker who has a 3-3 record with Murray. Even if two of his wins over Murray are on clay, I am not discounting that statistic.
Foggy moves well on grass; his speed and footwork on grass are quite impressive. I’m surprised actually. Not many who are good on clay can move well on grass.
Really enjoying both these matches. Let’s go Sam and Fabio!! Fabio hanging in and that was awesome end to the third from Sam. ?? ?
Murray could be in big trouble here.
If Murray meets Rafa playing like this………………..
Fognini up 5-2 and loses five set points and stops one of them to challenge without any challenges left. What an idiot. That so should’ve gone five. Man…
Tsonga seems a lot happier than the end of the Olivo match in Paris. Maybe what happened last time won’t transpire this time. We’ll see I guess.
I mean end of the night before he finished with Olivo. Not actual end of the match.
Poor Fognini, that match was there for the taking.
Murray can’t beat Nadal plain like that, no way
I came home to see Murray locked in a battle with Fog. Fog blew five set points to try to take it to a fifth set. Then he just lost the plot. He let Murray off the hook. I just got home and missed most of the match, but the ESPN commies were talking about how Murray did not play well.
One wonders if this is what Murray needs to get himself going. Sometimes matches like this can really help a player turn it around.
Tsonga and Querrey stopped play in the fifth set. Another great battle.
He did it again!! Tsonga goes out the next day and promptly gets broken. Just as he did at the French Open vs Olivo. Crazy… Huge for Sam though!! Real shot at the quarters again!!