Wimbledon R3 previews and predictions: Anderson vs. Kohlschreiber, Mannarino vs. Medvedev

Phillipp Kohlschreiber won three tiebreakers against Gilles Muller in round two and could be in line for some more ‘breakers against Kevin Anderson on Friday. The third-round schedule also includes Adrian Mannarino vs. Daniil Medvedev.

(25) Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. (8) Kevin Anderson

Anderson and Kohlschreiber will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the Wimbledon second week on Friday. All three of their previous encounters have gone the way of Anderson, who most recently prevailed 6-3, 7-6(7) earlier this season on the red clay of Madrid. Although Anderson is clearly an all-court player, grass may suit him even better. The eighth-ranked South African has reached the Wimbledon fourth round three times, including last year when he came within one set of the quarterfinals before succumbing to Sam Querrey. So far this fortnight he has defeated Norbert Gombos and Andreas Seppi, dropping just one set to Seppi in a tiebreaker along the way.

Kohlschreiber has been perfect through two matches, making quick 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 work of Evgeny Donskoy followed by a 7-6(6), 7-6(4), 7-6(3) victory over Gilles Muller. This is some much-needed success for the 27th-ranked German, who had been 1-4 in his last five matches–with his only win during that stretch coming via retirement–heading into the All-England Club. Based on current form, the surface, and their head-to-head history, Anderson should have an edge in this one.

Pick: Anderson in 4

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(22) Adrian Mannarino vs. Daniil Medvedev

Mannarino and Medvedev may not be anywhere close to the biggest names in the draw, but this third-round contest could be as good as it gets in terms of quality and competitiveness. Coming off a runner-up performance in Antalya, Mannarino is up to his usual tricks at Wimbledon with mostly routine defeats of Christian Garin and Ryan Harrison. Medvedev has continued by far the best season of his brief career with a straight-set rout of Halle champion Borna Coric and another straight-set beatdown of Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

A fourth-round appearance at the All-England Club would be nothing new for Mannarino, who has been to the second Monday on two occasions and has never advanced to round four at any other major. Medvedev, who has won 17 ATP-level matches in 2018 with a title in Sydney, was previously sporting a mere 2-6 record in the main draw of Grand Slams. The 67th-ranked Russian is 0-2 lifetime against Mannarino, with straight-set losses on the grass of ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2016 and last summer at the Montreal Masters. Medvedev has improved enough to be extremely competitive, but the Frenchman is a grass-court masters whose guile will likely get the best of the youngster in the end.

Pick: Mannarino in 5

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