One of the marquee first-round matchups at Wimbledon will take place on Tuesday, when Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem take the court. Italians Lorenzo Sonego and Matteo Berrettini are also in action.
Dominic Thiem vs. (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Thiem’s comeback from a 2021 wrist injury has pretty much been a disaster from start to finish, but one of the better matches he has played in the last two years has come against none other than Tsitsipas–his Wimbledon first-round opponent on Tuesday. They recently faced each other at the Madrid Masters, where Tsitsipas survived 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) to pull within 5-4 in the head-to-head series.
Both guys could really use a win in what will be their first-ever grass-court contest. Thiem has worked his way back inside the top 100 at No. 91, but the 29-year-old Austrian is a dreadful 7-14 on the main tour this season and has lost five of his last six matches overall (Challengers included). Tsitsipas played all three weeks on grass prior to Wimbledon and won just a single match (over Gregoire Barrere) while losing to Richard Gasquet, Nicolas Jarry, and Yannick Hanfmann. The fifth-ranked Greek is not particularly skilled on grass, but the good news for him is that–at least at this point–Thiem is even worse.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 4
Matteo Berrettini vs. Lorenzo Sonego
It will be Berrettini’s second consecutive match against Sonego when the two Italians clash again on Tuesday. The 2021 Wimbledon runner-up played only one warmup event on grass prior to arriving at the All-England Club and lost right away to Sonego via a 6-1, 6-2 decision.
Berrettini has won their three other previous encounters, but unfortunately for him that recent Stuttgart meeting tells the most relevant story. Berrettini has been plagued by injuries and his 2023 record stands at a meager 7-7. Since the end of Acapulco in early March, he has won only two matches on the main tour (both in Monte-Carlo). Sonego is a very good grass-court player and the world No. 42 should once again have no trouble taking advantage of a struggling opponent.
Pick: Sonego in 3
who ya got?
Sonego and Tsitsi in 4
Tpas in 3; Sonego in 3.
Cachin is not an easy first round match for Djokovic. Type of player than can cause a boil-over when he’s on.
Romeo wins in 5.
I was sure he would lose to Andy but not at all sure now.
Romeo had to play pretty well to win.