Dominic Thiem and Alexandr Dolgopolov will battle for a quarterfinal spot on Wednesday in Nottingham. Pablo Cuevas and Sam Querrey are also part of the third-round lineup.
(7) Dominic Thiem vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov
Thiem and Dolgopolov will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in the third round of the AEGON Open on Wednesday. Their only previous meeting came last fall on the indoor hard courts of Paris, where Thiem prevailed 6-2, 4-6, 6-0. The in-form Austrian registers one spot off his career-high ranking at No. 30 in the world and he is in line to snag the 32nd and final seed at Wimbledon. Thiem, who generally prefers either clay or hard courts, kicked off his Nottingham campaign on Tuesday with a convincing 6-3, 6-1 defeat of Malek Jaziri.
Dolgopolov is playing all three weeks in between the French Open and Wimbledon. So far his grass-court swing is highlighted by a Queen’s Club upset of Rafael Nadal, but the Ukrainian has otherwise struggled. Dolgopolov had to work extremely hard on Tuesday in order to get past Pablo Andujar in three sets after winning his opener 6-4, 6-4 over Donald Young. It is difficult to predict what the world No. 75 will bring to the table on any given day, but he should have a slight edge against Thiem on this particular surface if he is performing close to his best.
Pick: Dolgopolov in 3
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(5) Pablo Cuevas vs. (12) Sam Querrey
Querrey has done almost nothing since finishing runner-up on the clay courts of Houston in early April, but as usual he is showing signs of life on grass. The 44th-ranked American is a former champion at Queen’s Club (2010) and he also reached the semifinals of that event in 2012. In addition to multiple heartbreaking losses to tough competition at the All-England Club, Querrey owns one runner-up trophy on grass (Newport 2009). He began his week in Nottingham on Tuesday by beating Santiago Giraldo 7-6(4), 6-4.
Up next for the 12th seed is a first-ever encounter with Cuevas. The 23rd-ranked Uruguayan also earned an opening-round bye before disposing of Dudi Sela 7-5, 6-4. Cuevas’ clay-court swing was solid but unspectacular and it could have been even better had he not blown a massive lead against Gael Monfils in round three at Roland Garros. Cuevas may be struggling to find a rhythm on grass, which should not come as a huge surprise. He lost in the Halle first round last week to Jerzy Janowicz via a 6-3, 6-4 decision. If Querrey serves well, this should be a relatively straightforward affair–at least by Querrey standards–on the slick stuff.
Pick: Querrey in 2
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Querry is the most uninspiring player to watch, ever.