Wimbledon R2 previews and predictions: Murray vs. Brown, Muller vs. Rosol

Classic grass-court tennis should be on display when Andy Murray goes up against Dustin Brown at Wimbledon on Wednesday. A big-serving affair, meanwhile, features Gilles Muller and Lukas Rosol.

(1) Andy Murray vs. Dustin Brown

Brown is no stranger to second-round drama at Wimbledon as he prepares for a Wednesday date with Murray, the world No. 1 and defending champion. In three of the last four years Brown has reached at least the second round, with wins at this stage over Rafael Nadal (2015) and Lleyton Hewitt (2013) to go along with a five-set loss to Nick Kyrgios (2016). The 97th-ranked German is back in the last 64 after he recovered from a set and a break down to beat Joao Sousa 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4 on Monday.

This marks the second career contest between Murray and Brown, and first since round two of the 2010 U.S. Open. Murray dominated that meeting 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 one year before finally capturing his first Grand Slam title in Flushing Meadows. He is now a three-time major champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, having prevailed on three occasions at the All-England Club (Wimbledon twice and the 2012 London Olympics). The top-seeded Scot is dealing with a minor hip issue at the moment and has struggled most of the way in 2017, but he still clobbered lucky loser Alexander Bublik 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 on Monday. This may be a fun matchup, but it is not a good one for Brown because Murray is one of the best in the game and breaking down big servers with his stellar return. Grass at least gives the underdog a chance, but Murray looked healthy is his opener and will likely put too many returns back in the court.

Pick: Murray in 3

[polldaddy poll=9781273]

Lukas Rosol vs. (16) Gilles Muller

Muller and Rosol will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Wednesday. Both of their previous meetings have gone Rosol’s way; 7-5, 6-4 at the 2013 Miami Masters and 7-6(4), 6-2 a couple of months later on the clay courts of Bucharest. Fast forward almost exactly four seasons, however, and it is Muller who is still going strong at 34 years old. The Luxembourgian has captured each of his two career ATP titles in 2017 (Sydney and a few weeks ago in ‘s-Hertogenbosch) and is up to a career-high ranking of No. 26 in the world. Muller maintained his fine form by beating Marton Fucsovics 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 in his Wimbledon opener.

This is a showdown between two veterans who have both taken down Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon and are currently on a collision course for the fourth round with the Spaniard. Muller accomplished the feat back in 2005, while Rosol more famously stunned Nadal in 2012. It has been downhill ever since for the 31-year-old Czech, who comes in at No. 212 in the rankings and obviously had to qualify last week in order to get into the main draw. Rosol did so successfully and then took care of Henri Laaksonen 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 on Monday. The bottom line, however, is that Muller is playing far better tennis right now and is one of the most confident players in the sport on grass.

Pick: Muller in 4

[polldaddy poll=9781366]