Ricky Dimon of the Grandstand and Pete Ziebron of Tennis Acumen make their picks for four of the best matchups on the second Monday at Wimbledon. The jam-packed schedule includes Kei Nishikori vs. Ernests Gulbis and John Isner vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas.
(24) Kei Nishikori vs. (Q) Ernests Gulbis
Ricky: Even before Saturday, Gulbis was already the last qualifier remaining in the draw. From completely out of nowhere, the suddenly resurgent Latvian now finds himself in the second week at Wimbledon following a five-set stunner over Alexander Zverev–his third consecutive five-set victory. Nishikori, meanwhile, underwhelmed through two rounds but picked up the pace in a major way and was outstanding in a surprising straight-set rout of Nick Kyrgios. The No. 24 seed is now 4-0 lifetime against Kyrgios and he is 2-0 vs. Gulbis, who has a similar style to that of the Aussie–and a similar mentality, too. This should be a fun one, but in the end Nishikori will likely get too many balls back and wear down the underdog. Nishikori in 5: 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3.
Pete: Four years ago en route to a Roland Garros semifinal berth, Gulbis stated that he planned to be world No. 1. Since that time, he has done little to back up the boast. This year, the Latvian had to qualify for the main draw and has actually trailed after the first set in three of the six matches he has played. However, he won 12 of the last 15 games of the match to stun Zverev advance advance to the fourth round. Nishikori yielded just 11 points to Kyrgios in the opening set of their third-round encounter and marched to an impressive straight-set win over the talented Aussie. The Japanese star has reached at least the quarters of all of the majors except for Wimbledon. Somehow these veteran players who have been on the ATP Tour for more than a decade have met only once. Gulbis has gone the distance in each of his three main-draw matches, while Nishikori has been able to win efficiently. This fact will contribute significantly to the end result. Nishikori in 4: 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(3).
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(9) John Isner vs. (31) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Ricky: Too many long matches in early rounds have plagued Isner later at Grand Slams. He needed five to beat Ruben Bemelmans in round two, but that was spread across two days and the 6’10” American finished the fifth before it got to marathon status. He also made lightning-quick work of Radu Albot on Friday and will have two days off prior to this one. Isner has not been broken through three rounds and he has been awesome on break points, saving all five he has faced while converting 11 of his 27 opportunities. Big-point and big-match experience may make the difference for Isner over the young but talented Tsitsipas in what is sure to be a competitive contest. Isner in 4: 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(8).
Pete: Isner, though respectful of his upstart opponent, recognizes the absolute golden opportunity he has to potentially reach a Wimbledon semifinal this year. The service of the lanky American has been nearly immaculate through three matches, hitting 113 aces against only nine double-faults while concurrently serving at a healthy 77 percent first-serve percentage. Should Isner get past the young Greek, he holds a 3-1 H2H lead against probable quarterfinal opponent Milos Raonic. However, Tsitsipas has played solid tennis for the last few months and plans to dig in against Isner and play his fearless brand of tennis. The American will recall how close he was to exiting Wimbledon, saving two match points in his second-round match and will plan to not be anywhere near red alert territory in this match. Isner will hit aces when he needs them. Isner in 4: 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.
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Gael Monfils vs. (8) Kevin Anderson
Ricky: This was shaping up to be the 17th career contest between Anderson and Sam Querrey, and second in as many years in the Wimbledon fourth round. But Monfils had other ideas, as he recovered from a set deficit to pull off an impressive grass-court upset of Querrey 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. The Frenchman, who ousted Richard Gasquet in round one, has somehow emerged from a slump to achieve this success on what has to be considered his worst surface. Asking for a fourth win of the fortnight may be too much. Anderson is a proven force on grass who has now advanced to the Wimbledon fourth round four times. His 0-5 record against Monfils is alarming, but they have not faced each other since 2016 and Anderson is a much more confident player now. Grass also helps his chances. Anderson in 4: 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Pete: Monfils is playing after middle Sunday for the first time, in this his 10th appearance at Wimbledon. The Frenchman absolutely owns Anderson, dropping just a single set in their five matches. Meanwhile, the fact that Monfils dispatched Querrey in the third round will have provided him with a comparable blueprint for his round of 16 encounter with the South African. This year marks the fourth time in the last five years that Anderson has reached Manic Monday, but he has stalled each of the previous three times. Expect Monfils to add to the tally in this lopsided matchup, making it six for six. Monfils in 4: 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-4.
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(5) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Gilles Simon
Ricky: This is always a fun matchup and an intriguing contrast in styles. Del Potro leads the head-to-head series 4-3 and four of their seven previous meetings have required deciding sets. The Argentine won an epic five-setter at the 2008 U.S. Open and he needed only three sets in their only previous Wimbledon showdown, but that was a competitive 7-6(8), 7-6(5), 7-5 result in 2011. While the Frenchman’s run to the fourth round has come out of nowhere, Del Potro has been one of the tour’s best players the entire way this season. In the end, the fifth seed will almost certainly have too much firepower for the counter-punching underdog. Del Potro in 4: 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Pete: Ironically, three of the seven matches played between the Argentine and Frenchman have been contested on grass and Del Potro has won them all. Through three matches at the Championships, Del Potro has not dropped a set and has won 54 of the 80 games he has contested. Simon has finally reached the fourth round of a major for the first time in 30 months. The Frenchman has issued three breadstick sets to opponents and the lone set he has dropped occurred in a tiebreaker. Del Potro has reached the semifinals in two of the last three majors he has played–thus we all continue to wonder what might have been with respect to the injury riddled career of Del Potro. He is aware of the precious time that he is healthy on a tennis court and is eyeing a potential quarterfinal against world No. 1 Rafael Nadal. Del Potro in 4: 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5.
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who ya got?
Nishi, Isner, Monfils – all in 4.
Delpo?
Delpo in 3 or 4.
Nishi,Delpo,Isner in four.
Monfils in 5 (Would usually have said Anderson on grass)
Anderson in 3, Tsitsi in 5, Nishi in 3, Delpo in 3
Gulbis again in the upset…in 4; Anderson in 5; JDP in 3; the Big Dawg in 3
Isner in three Monfils in five Del Po in four Nishikori in five
Isner in 3?
I’ve got a feeling he does what he did against Albot (serves unstoppable bombs the whole time and takes advantage of the few break point opportunities he has)
much easier to do against Radu!
Fair point lol
Anderson in 4; Tsitsipas in 5; Nishi in 4; Delpo in 4.
Gulbis (for one more upset before he crashes out), Isner, Monfils, DelPo.
Of the four matches, 3 have the makings of something interesting, though I find Simon and DelPo particularly so. I mean, Simon’s game isn’t necessarily exciting of its own accord, but his enduring habit of making trouble for top players makes him enjoyable anytime he finds himself in the second week of a slam.
Delpo-Simon is an awesome matchup if ever there can be one involving Simon
Quite so.
of course, Simon-Monfils is the greatest matchup in tennis history
Worst matchup has to be Simon against another counterpuncher
Yeah, you’re right Ricky, when I had to endure watching a 60+ shots rally for either one of them to win a single point (at Hamburg one year). I had enough of that matchup after that match and won’t be watching them play each other from then on!
I belongs to those who weren’t exactly surprised that Ernests pulled off the upset against Zverev. If Gulbis has enough fuel left in the tank, he has definitely a chance against Kei. While I like Kei, I would be thrilled if Gulbis could continue his run. He shouldn’t be too tired because the last set against Zverev was two days ago and physically not very taxing.
I always thought it’s a bit unfair to sort Gulbis into the category “playboy wasting his considerable talent”. The fact that he has more than enough money and doesn’t need to play tennis for making a living but continues to play lower tier tournaments nevertheless, shows his enduring passion for the sport. I think he was always far more dedicated than he let on. He lost many matches not because he lacked dedication but because he didn’t always have the mental strength for closing tight matches successfully. Many other players – like Cilic for example – aren’t mental giants either. But no one accuses them of a lack of dedication. This narrative has developed specifically in connection with Gulbis because he comes from a rich family and doesn’t need to earn money as a pro player. And when he was younger he masked his disappointment after an unnecessary loss with flippant remarks. Also, he was injured a lot in the last couple of years. At the moment he seems to be healthy and mentally in a good place. He ist also married. This might provide him with emotional support and he improved in the mental department. He now won six matches in a row because he had to play the qualies in order to get a shot at the main field. In a masters tournament this would be enough for winning the trophy.
Whether Ernests the Manifold will win or lose today, it will be interesting to see how he will fare in the future.
Enjoyed your post, Littlefoot. And I agree with the points you make about Gulbis.
In his post match presser, Gulbis sounded much more matured and serious, I like this Gulbis. I think after playing in challenger events and seeing how tough life was there, he finally decided to be more focused and more serious about his tennis career.
He’s still only 29 or going on 30, there’s still time for him to get serious and to have good results; he’s talented after all. Who knows, if he gets past Kei, he may have a good chance against Djoko in the QF. Djoko is not back to his previous good level yet.
After seeing how the ‘lost’ generation falter at the slams and the next gen guys not ready to win the slams, it’s good to see that old timers like Gulbis who is trying to make a comeback is having some good results.
Lucky put a smile on my face 🙂 How sweet would be a Nadal-Gulbis semifinal. I am not blaming you. That sounds like a good match for Rafa before the final. The Latvian player would be exhausted probably.
No, I personally wants a Rafa vs Djoko SF to settle old score between the two. I really wish for Rafa to beat this Djoko on grass, so that he’ll even his H2H to 26-26 and 1-1 on grass since Djoko became his v2 in 2011.
Rafa had met Djoko several times during Rafs’s Slump from 2015-2016 but Djoko hardly made it to face Rafa during Djoko’s own slump from 2017 onwards.
I see what you mean. But at the same time you can’t be sure he’d win.
Gulbis would be a less risky option.
No, from what I saw of the two, ie Rafa and Djoko, so far, I think Rafa would beat this Djoko. Rafa is hard to beat when he’s in a slam SF; he had lost only 3 SFs out of 27 played at the slams, ie he won 89% of them! Compared to his slam finals where he made 24 and won 17, ie 71% success rate, he’s doing much better when he’s in the SF.
Life tough in the challengers? For Gulbis??? Sure, for the ordinary player trying to make ends meet. But Gulbis, I assure you, has no money problems. Tennis is his hobby, not his profession. I don’t think he’ll beat Kei tomorrow but even if he reaches the final by some miracle, he’ll vanish back to the challengers soon.
it would be at least a year that he doesn’t have to play Challengers if he wins tomorrow
What he meant was everyone was about the same level and it’s very difficult to beat one another to win the matches. He brought out something interesting which I agreed with, and that is the lower ranked players were in awe with the TOP players when playing in the center courts of big tournaments like at the slams and so they couldn’t perform the way they could (ie being competitive and fight tooth and nail) like when they play at the challengers. Gulbis claimed that the level of play at challengers aren’t/weren’t low to start with. He probably would also feel that the effort put in for the measly prize money made life tough at the challengers events.
I think he may have the point, ie their level aren’t Low and that’s why we see upsets at the slams; and many early round matches go/went the distance esp when they’re played between low ranked players.
Gulbis is a different man than he was a few years ago — at least it seems like it watching and listening to him. Hope this positive change lasts – it’s good for tennis to have him back – especially if he’s as serious as it seems.
Kei will beat Gulbis, if Kei can bring the level he played vs Nick. Maybe he loses a set to Gulbis. Kei is my pick in 3 or 4.
Delpo in 4
Tsitsipas in 5
Monfils in 4
And the winners will be … Tsitsipas, Del Potro, Gulbis, and Monfils …. http://www.138mph.com/wimbledon-tennis-2018-mens-pre-quarterfinals-preview-and-analysis/
Zverev was a weak formline all things considered whereas Kyrgious was quite a strong one even thoyugh he was due for a flop performance.
Nishikori should win this convincingly.
Gulbis could still easily take this to 10-10 in the fifth considering the dude basically doesn’t give a crap ever (in a good way in this case). But HOW DID HE MISS THAT LAST BACKHAND
Wait never mind Nishikori already broke 😂
I’m not happy Gulbis is back – I just hope this change is not temporary – hope to see much more of him playing almost up to his best again.
Very glad Kei won this time, tho.
Was the match worth watching? Score looked like Gulbis ran out of energy in that last set. Maybe losing those 2 tb’s killed his spirit.
Happy to see Mackenzie got a set.
Can’t stand watching Isner, Raonic or Anderson tennis – dang it. Come on Monfils!
Gosh meant to type – I’m happy Gulbis appears to be back.
Gulbis had some problems with his left knee late in the match. That’s why the 4th set was so one-sided. Kei didn’t look all that healthy to me either. I think Djoko has a clear path to the semi.
Anderson might lose with this two sets to love lead just like he did at the French. In fact, I’ve never been more sure of a result in my life. #MonfilsinFive
lol – hope you are right. #MonfilsinFive 😀
allez Monf!
But wouldn’t Monfils be more of a threat to Fed than Anderson?
Probably not on grass.
Ah, so smart you are 🙂
Just like last year and the year before that and so on…indeed it’s confirmed again: I suck at picking a winner on grass.
neither a threat, but Anderson is more. He led Djoker 2 sets to 0 at Wimbledon when Djoker was in his prime.
Yes, but Monfils is more fun to watch than Anderson.