Wimbledon R2 previews and predictions: Alcaraz vs. Vukic, Shelton vs. Harris

On Wednesday afternoon defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz will take on Aleksandar Vukic for a spot in the third round, while American Ben Shelton faces tough South African Lloyd Harris at the All-England Club.

(3) Carlos Alcaraz vs. Aleksandar Vukic

Carlos Alcaraz comes to the All-England Club off his French Open title. The Spanish prodigy has already won a U.S. Open (2022) and he is the defending Wimbledon champion, so he is playing with plenty of confidence. But that didn’t stop first-round opponent Mark Lajal from putting up a fight as Alcaraz attempted to get his grass legs under him. The world No. 3 clearly knows what he’s doing on a grass court, but he only had two grass-court matches coming into this fortnight.

Aleksandar Vukic had a rough start to the year, but he posted his best result of the season last week in Eastbourne. He made the semifinals, where he lost a close one to eventual champion Taylor Fritz. It’s bad luck for Vukic that he runs into Alcaraz this early in the tournament and right after a brutal five-set match the Aussie had against Sebastian Ofner on Monday.

Look for Alcaraz to take control of this one early as he builds momentum for the rest of the tournament.

Cheryl pick: Alcaraz in 3

Ricky pick: Alcaraz in 3

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(14) Ben Shelton vs. (Q) Lloyd Harris

This will be the first meeting between American Ben Shelton and the South African qualifier Lloyd Harris. Shelton, who wields one of the biggest serves in tennis, has had an underwhelming grass-court season coming into Wimbledon. He won a single match in three tune-up events. He managed to squeak out a five-set victory over world No. 148 Mattia Bellucci in round one, but it wasn’t convincing.

Harris has spent his entire 2024 season on the Challenger circuit and came into the All-England Club without a main-tour win. The good news for the 27-year-old is that he has a decent amount of momentum since he just won the Surbiton Challenger. Harris earned his spot in the main draw through qualies, so he has plenty of grass-court tennis this season.

This might actually be a tricky match for Shelton, who hasn’t been in great form recently. Wimbledon offers a little less advantage for qualifiers, as the qualifying event is played Roehampton and not on the pristine courts at the All-England Club. Harris is likely to snag a set or two from the American, but Shelton should find his way through.

Cheryl pick: Shelton in 5

Ricky pick: Shelton in 4

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