Third round action at Wimbledon gets underway on Friday, when some familiar foes will bee facing each other again. Among them are Daniil Medvedev and David Goffin. Ricky Dimon of The Grandstand and Tennis Acumen‘s Pete Ziebron make their predictions.
(11) Daniil Medvedev vs. (21) David Goffin
Ricky: Medvedev and Goffin also squared off in the Australian Open third round and the Russian took Goffin to the woodshed in straight sets. Although the Belgian has gotten back in gear and finished runner-up in Halle, Medvedev has also rebounded from a brief slump with a semifinal showing at Queen’s Club and two mostly routine wins so far at the All-England Club. The No. 11 seed will win far more free points on serve and his backhand works to perfection on grass, so I think he has an edge in what should be a much more competitive contest than the one Down Under. Medvedev in 4: 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(7).
Pete: Both Medvedev and Goffin arrive in the third round feeling fresh, having lost a combined one set in their first two matches. Ironically, this is the only one of the four contests in the Djokovic quarter on Friday that features two seeded players. Medvedev has shown consistent flashes of brilliant play on tour but has yet to make a deep run at a major. Goffin pick up his first win at Wimbledon since 2016 earlier this week and managed to win one of the two sets dropped by Rafael Nadal in his dominant Roland Garros title run. Medvedev continues to improve and defeats the Belgian for the second straight time at a major this year. Medvedev in 4: 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4.
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(10) Karen Khachanov vs. (23) Roberto Bautista Agut
Ricky: Like Medvedev and Goffin, Khachanov and Bautista Agut also met at the Australian Open. Like Medvedev, Bautista Agut turned it into a laugher (6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to be exact). Th Spaniard leads the head-to-head series 3-2, with both of Khachanov’s wins having come on clay. Although both men are all-court players, clay–as the aforementioned results suggest–is far more conducive to the Russian’s game. On any other surface, RBA has been and will likely continue to be too tough. Bautista Agut in 4: 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4.
Pete: Khachanov will arrive at this match feeling good about the fact that he eliminated an in-form Feliciano Lopez in the previous round. The Russian’s game is solid on all surfaces and despite an unexpected five match losing streak earlier this year, appears to be correcting course at this time. In Bautista Agut’s last four losses at Wimbledon, he has been eliminated in straight sets, winning just: 6, 10, 7, and 7 games respectively in these matches (including one to Bernard Tomic). Bautista Agut will compete significantly in this match but it will result in a loss to Khachanov, who is eyeing a potentially deep run this year. Khachanov in 4: 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-3.
Reilly Opelka vs. (15) Milos Raonic
Ricky: A matchup of this nature between two huge servers is almost always a crapshoot, complete with a whole host of tiebreakers. Anything can happen. Who knows, we might even get a tiebreaker at 12-12 in the fifth set. But you have to give an edge to the Canadian based on his experience and his successful history at Wimbledon (runner-up in 2016, semifinal in 2014, two straight quarterfinals) and Opelka is coming off an 8-6 in the fifth set battle with Stan Wawrinka. Raonic in 4: 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(6).
Pete: Surprise! Opelka dashed Wawrinka’s slim hopes of completing a career slam by coming back for a two set to one deficit to extinguish the Swiss and advance to the third round in his first appearance in the Wimbledon main draw. The young American was on a four match losing streak before his winning his opening match here at the third major of the year. Following his run to the final three years ago, Raonic has reached the quarters at the Championships in each of the last two years. The Canadian also played two grass-court events this year, notching five wins in the process. Raonic has 23 wins at Wimbledon since 2014 and certainly knows the route to victory again in this match. Raonic in 4: 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-3.
(28) Benoit Paire vs. (Q) Jiri Vesely
Ricky: Vesely is basically a poor man’s Sam Querrey, in that he always seems to do his best work at Wimbledon–albeit to a much lesser extent than Querrey. The Czech has reached the second Monday twice in his career. And in case it has to be said, being a poor man’s Sam Querrey is not a good thing. Vesely is playing great so far in London, but consistency has never been his forte. This is Paire’s best slam, as well, and he is simply the more talented of these two players. If the Frenchman can keep his head on straight for for all or most of the time, he should advance. Paire in 5: 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
Pete: Despite reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, Vesely actually needed to qualify for the main draw and dropped just one set in three matches to do so successfully. Since losing to Nadal here last year in the round of sixteen, Vesely entered Wimbledon with just five ATP wins in the last 52 weeks and has played eight Challengers with a semifinal as his best showing back in January. Paire is seeking to reach consecutive court round berths at a major after having only reached the round of sixteen just twice before in his career. Vesely has won 12 matches at Wimbledon and just eight at all other majors. This match means more to him and that will be the difference against Paire. Vesely in 4: 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3).
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