Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner takes on Aleksandar Vukic on Thursday, and the all American battle Brandon Nakashima vs. Reilly Opelka is also on the schedule for the Wimbledon second round.
(1) Jannik Sinner vs. Aleksandar Vukic
Italy’s Jannik Sinner might not be the tournament favorite this week; that distinction is Carlos Alcaraz’s. But he is the second favorite and certainly a title contender. He will continue his 2025 bid against the Australian Aleksandar Vukic, a player he has never lost a set to, during second-round action on Thursday. Sinner was a point away (three times!) from winning the French Open for the first time, but that title also went to Alcaraz.
Sinner is 2-0 against Vukic, who is ranked 93rd in the world right now–a reflection of his poor 2025 results in the first half of the year. That’s down from a career high of 48th. He is 6-15 on the season, including his first-round victory over Chun-Hsing Tseng on Tuesday. Vukic has won his fair share of matches, but his low ranking requires him to qualify for most events. He has managed to win qualies on grass this year but not many main-tour matches. Given the fact that Sinner is the best player in the world (at least on hard courts) and the second-best player on grass, there is nothing to suggest an upset in the making on this one–even in an upset-heavy tournament that has seen the ouster of the world No. 3 already.
Cheryl pick: Sinner in 3
Ricky pick: Sinner in 3
(29) Brandon Nakashima vs. Reilly Opelka
There is nothing easy about this match for either player; it has the makings of a barnburner. World No. 70 Reilly Opelka is 7-feet tall with one of the most dangerous first serves in the entire men’s tour. Playing him is no walk in the park under normal circumstances, but on grass–which is slick and low bouncing–it’s a misery.
World No. 34 Brandon Nakashima has had good results on grass so far this year. The American reached two quarterfinals in Stuttgart and at Queen’s Club. Nakashima and Opelka have split their previous meetings at one win each. Generally, grass courts favor the bigger server–but Opelka has proven to be physically delicate over best-of-five matches. A slight edge goes to Nakashima in this one, but an Opelka win would not be much of an upset despite the difference in rankings.
Cheryl pick: Nakashima in 5
Ricky pick: Nakashima in 5
WWW?
Sinner in 3; Naka in a tough 4