Wimbledon R3 preview and prediction: Johnson vs. Dimitrov

Steve Johnson and Grigor Dimitrov will be playing on consecutive days as third-round action at Wimbledon begins on Friday. Adam Leigh previews the action between a red-hot Johnson and a struggling Dimitrov, who is dire need of some success.

Newly-minted ATP title winner Steve Johnson will look to continue his stellar grass-court form when he takes on a slumping Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the Wimbledon fourth round on Friday afternoon.

Johnson dropped just a single set on his way to a maiden title last week in Nottingham, the final grass-court lead-up to Wimbledon. He maintained his winning ways through the first and second rounds at the All-England Club with a straight-set disposals of Malek Jaziri and Jeremy Chardy. Dimitrov took an extra set but was similarly untroubled accounting for 16th seed Gilles Simon, who dialed 29 unforced errors in their second-round encounter. The Bulgarian had previously rolled over Bjorn Fratangelo.

The pair have met twice previously on tour, including last year at Wimbledon–where Dimitrov easily handled Johnson in straight sets before the American returned the favor a few weeks later in Washington on his way to a semifinal appearance.

Prior to his grass-court success Johnson had a difficult time on the spring clay-court swing, managing just a lone win in five tournament appearances on the dirt. Unfortunately for Dimitrov, his wretched clay-court form carried over to the grass; prior to Wimbledon, he was dumped out of five consecutive events in round one.

There is an argument that, for the talent they possess, both men have underwhelmed at the Grand Slam level to this point in their careers. Dimitrov’s lone highlight has been a semifinal appearance at SW19 in 2014, while Johnson has failed to progress past the third round in 16 attempts at the highest level.

Even at 26 years old, Johnson’s game is still developing. The former college standout has taken his time adjusting to the realities of the tour–not uncommon for products of the college system, where the style of play tends to be relatively generic. There is evidence, though, that he is adjusting his somewhat mechanical technique for life on tour. His wildly under-rated serve and fluent mix of challenging slices and spins are perfectly suited to the grass and look like a daunting challenge for an ice-cold Dimitrov, whose timing and footwork is badly out of sorts.

Pick: Johnson in 4

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