Wimbledon Day 4 expert picks, including Fritz vs. Struff and Querrey vs. Rublev 

Rafael Nadal vs. Nick Kyrgios on Centre Court headlines Thursday’s schedule at Wimbledon. Ricky Dimon and Cheryl Murray of The Grandstand preview some of the best second-round matchups and make their predictions.

(33) Jan-Lennard Struff vs. Taylor Fritz

Ricky: Fritz is the betting favorite in this match and it’s hard to see why. Well, we know why: because the American just captured a grass-court title in Eastbourne. Still, Fritz’s sample size of success is small. Struff, on the other hand, has been simply outstanding this entire season. The 6’5” German reached the fourth round at Roland Garros and is not slowing down on grass. In the pressure moments, Fritz–who basically got a bye in round one against Tomas Berdych–won’t win as many free points and won’t be quite as mentally tough. Struff in 4: 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3.

Cheryl: This could be the pick of the second round. Well, we know what match really is…but for sheer competition, this could be it. Fritz just came from kind of out of nowhere to win Eastbourne. Suffice it to say the American is on a roll. He also sits at a career-high No. 31 in the world. Struff is similarly ranked a career high (33), and he made the semis in Stuttgart. Both of these guys know how to play on grass. Struff probably has a slightly bigger upside, as he has slowly made his way up the rankings this year, but Fritz has to be positively brimming with confidence. Fritz in 5: 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 6-4.

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Sam Querrey vs. Andrey Rublev

Ricky: It would be quite typical of Querrey to upset a top player and then flame out as a big favorite in his next match. But because this is grass, and especially Wimbledon, I don’t see that happening. The American is awesome at this event, with a semifinal showing and also a quarterfinal run–both in the previous three years. Rublev, meanwhile, has been struggling with injuries and finds himself down at 79th in the rankings. The Russian has advanced past round two of a slam only twice in eight appearances throughout his career. Querrey in 4: 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(2), 6-2.

Cheryl: The grass season is Querrey’s best month of the entire tennis season. The American just made the final in Eastbourne, and he upset French Open finalist Dominic Thiem in the first round this week. Rublev fought hard for his three-hour match win over Cristian Garin in the opening round, but the young Chilean hasn’t proven his mettle on grass as Querrey has. Querrey should be able to pull it out. Querrey in 4: 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-4, 7-5.

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Steve Johnson vs. (25) Alex de Minaur

Ricky: This should be one of the more competitive matches in the second round. Johnson has won two of his four career ATP titles on grass and he has now advanced out of the first round of three straight grass-court tournaments. De Minaur ended a five-match losing streak at the French Open and has at least been decent during the grass-court swing. A slight edge goes to the Aussie since he leads the head-to-head series 2-1 (2-0 on the main tour) and also played well in his Wimbledon debut last summer, advancing to round three before falling to Nadal. De Minaur in 5: 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

Cheryl: Johnson hasn’t had much (any) success against the young Aussie. A couple of hard-court meetings last year both went de Minaur’s way in straight sets. Thursday’s match prospects probably aren’t much better for the American. Johnson has played four grass-court tournaments this summer (including Wimbledon), and he’s amassed three wins so far. De Minaur hasn’t had a significantly better grass-court season but since he seems to know how to beat Johnson, he has the clear edge. De Minaur in 4: 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

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Nick Kyrgios vs. (3) Rafael Nadal

Ricky: The hype train for this one is out of control. I’m not saying it shouldn’t be; it should. After all, they’ve had some incredibly entertaining ones on the court and their disdain for each other off the court is even more entertaining. That being said, I don’t see Thursday’s showdown living up to the billing. Nadal will be a man on a mission with Kyrgios on the other side of the net. Kyrgios will be the same, but the problem for him is that there is nothing there to channel right now. He is in dreadful form–even on grass. The Aussie was motivated against Jordan Thompson and he still lost two sets, including one bagel tank. Nadal in 3: 6-1, 7-6(6), 6-3.

Cheryl: Oh, this one is a second-rounder worth salivating over. First, there is just the spectacle of watching two players who flat-out dislike each other. It adds a little something extra to the matchup each time they play. Then there is the fact that Kyrgios seems to play his best tennis against the Big 3. He is 3-3 against Nadal and won their last encounter in Acapulco. I have a funny feeling Nadal is going to be a little extra motivated this time around. He gets that mulish look in his eyes when he talks about Nick…rather like he did when he met Robin Soderling at the French Open a second time. Nadal in 3: 7-5, 6-4, 6-1.

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