Andy Murray will be aiming for a place in the second week of Wimbledon when he takes the court against Andreas Seppi on Friday. Roger Federer is also in third-round action, facing Sam Groth.
(25) Andreas Seppi vs. (3) Andy Murray
Murray and Seppi will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers when they collide in the Wimbledon third round on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 6-1 in favor of Murray, but they have split a pair of grass-court encounters. Each of those two aforementioned meetings came more than six years ago; Seppi prevailed 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-1 at the 2006 Nottingham event before Murray got the job done 6-1, 6-4 at Queen’s Club in 2009. The two veterans most recently faced each other last season in a Davis Cup rubber on the clay courts of Italy, where the Scot cruised 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 to extend his winning streak at Seppi’s expense to six in a row.
As could be expected, Murray had a much easier time earning his spot in the last 32. The world No. 3 beat Mikhail Kukushkin in straight sets then hammered Robin Haase 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 on Thursday. Murray, who recently triumphed at Queen’s Club, is now 43-6 for the year. Seppi trounced Brydan Klein in his opener but needed three hours and 32 minutes to overcome Borna Coric in five sets during second-round action. The 27th-ranked Italian, a recent runner-up to Roger Federer in Halle, is a solid grass-court player but he is also a poor man’s Murray. Two similar playing styles will be on display, and the problem for Seppi is that Murray can do all of the same things and can do them all better.
Pick: Murray in 3 losing 12 games or fewer
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Sam Groth vs. (2) Roger Federer
Federer has captured only one Wimbledon title since 2009 (d. Andy Roddick in 2012), but the 33-year-old Swiss may be ready to turn back the clock. He is 36-6 for the season and one of his four winner’s trophies came just recently on the grass courts of Halle. Federer has maintained momentum with impressive performances against Damir Dzumhur and Sam Querrey. The world No. 2 has not surrendered more than four games in any set and he has needed a grand total of just two hours and 32 minutes on court.
Next up for Federer is a second career meeting with Groth. They faced each other in the second round of the 2014 U.S. Open, a matchup that saw the favorite coast to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Arguably the biggest server on tour in terms of sheer power, Groth may have a better chance on grass. The 69th-ranked Australian is 5-2 at the ATP level on the green stuff this season and 5-0 in Challengers. So far this fortnight he has taken out Jack Sock and James Duckworth, dropping only one set to Sock in the process. Groth will make this interesting at times because of his booming deliveries, but he is once again going to find himself thoroughly outclassed by Federer in the all-court department.
Pick: Federer in 3 losing 11-14 games
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Murray and Fed in 3.