Novak Djokovic has a surprising third-round matchup on his hands in the form of Ernests Gulbis, who upset Juan Martin Del Potro on Thursday at Wimbledon. Dominic Thiem are Jared Donaldson are also on the Saturday schedule.
Ernests Gulbis vs. (2) Novak Djokovic
Djokovic and Gulbis will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers and for the first time in almost two full years when they battle for a spot in the second week of Wimbledon on Saturday. The head-to-head series stands at 6-1 in favor of Djokovic, who has won four in a row at Gulbis’ expense since falling at the 2009 Brisbane event. They have not faced each other since the Serb scored a come-from-behind 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-1 victory at the 2015 Canada Masters.
From that point until now, Gulbis completely fell off the tennis map due to both physical problems and poor play. The 28-year-old currently registers at No. 589 in the rankings and had not won a tour-level match since the 2016 French Open prior to his arrival at the All-England Club. Out of nowhere, Gulbis clobbered Victor Estrella Burgos 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 and then upset Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(3) on Thursday. Djokovic booked his spot in the third round by getting a second-set retirement from Martin Klizan and crushing Adam Pavlasek 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. The fourth-ranked Serb has struggled this season, but he reached the French Open quarterfinals and has looked strong through four sets at the All-England Club. Asking a generally inconsistent Gulbis to turn in a third straight solid performance and accomplish the same feat that Sam Querrey achieved in this round last summer is likely too much.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
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(8) Dominic Thiem vs. Jared Donaldson
Thiem and Donaldson will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they meet again on Saturday. Their only previous encounter came this spring on the clay courts of Madrid, where Thiem got the job done 6-3, 6-4. Grass gives Donaldson a much better chance–albeit still not a great one. After all, Thiem has emerged as one of the most fearsome forces in the game on clay and is already a two-time French Open semifinalist at 23 years old. The green stuff has been a different story, and Thiem’s woes on this surface include recent losses to Robin Haase (Halle second round) and Ramkumar Ramanathan (Antalya second round). Perhaps more motivated at Wimbledon, the eighth-ranked Austrian has picked up the pace this week to beat Vasek Pospisil in straight sets and Gilles Simon in four.
Donaldson owns almost half of his career ATP-level match wins in 2017 (nine of 20) and he will break into the top 60 for the first time in his career after Wimbledon following defeats of Janko Tipsarevic (via a first-set retirement) and Paolo Lorenzi (6-4, 7-6(0), 6-7(0), 6-2). The 20-year-old American has now reached the third round in two of the last four Grand Slams, having also accomplished the feat at last summer’s U.S. Open. Donaldson is unafraid of the big stage, but he is simply not yet anywhere near Thiem’s overall level and the favorite is only growing in confidence on grass.
Pick: Thiem in 3
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Thiem, sigh…he sizzles on a tennis court and I can watch him all day 😀 Donaldson not so much, but he is playing far above expectation and giving Thiem all he can handle – especially pressing the Thiem serve in the first set. I’d say Donaldson grass suits him well — he’s super aggressive can volley, serve, moves fast…and this is the first time I’ve liked him.
I prefer watching Rafa all day ( and everyday!)! Thiem? Not so much. And, that’s an ugly way to put on the bandana, luckily Thiem adjusted it back in place, looks better now.
Well, yes. Most here prefer Rafa all day, I know that 😀 And I also appreciate Rafa but I’m loving Thiem’s messy hair look — and he’s so dang powerful — okay not as powerful as Rafa.
Thiem is actually more powerful now than Rafa, hitting very hard with both topspin and pace, and serving very big serve. Rafa’s game is not about power, though he’s physically powerful no doubt esp during his younger days and his heydays.
But, this Thiem Donaldson match is so much more entertaining than the Fed Mischa match, some incredible hitting and retrieving and unbelievable shots!
By far, I agree.