American Tommy Paul will be in third-round action on Friday at Wimbledon against Czech left-hander Jiri Vesely. American Frances Tiafoe and Kazakh Alexander Bublik will also meet for the second time in as many weeks.
(23) Frances Tiafoe vs. Alexander Bublik
American Frances Tiafoe will get another shot at Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan. The two men met last week on the grass courts of Eastbourne in a wild match that Bublik eventually won 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-0. It brings their head-to-head series to 1-1; they also met in Washington, D.C. in 2019. Tiafoe won that match in fairly routine straight sets.
Bublik captured a title earlier this season in Montpelier, but he has been noticeably patchy ever since. His quarterfinal last week in Eastbourne had been by far his best result of the past few months until this week. He dispatched Marton Fucsovics and Dusan Lajovic to earn his third-round spot.
Tiafoe’s form has been similarly unpredictable this year. He made the final in Estoril in the spring but then managed one match win in five tournaments coming into London. The American has a 12-13 record on the season. His path to the third round featured wins over Andrea Vavassori (ranked 256th in the world) and Maximilian Marterer (ranked 172nd).
This third-round contest could have a similar cadence to their Eastbourne match, with a couple of close sets to make it entertaining. Given Tiafoe’s lackluster form overall, this one should go to Bublik.
Cheryl pick: Bublik in 5
Ricky pick: Bublik in 4
(30) Tommy Paul vs. Jiri Vesely
Jiri Vesely posted a marathon win in the second round over the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The two men played for nearly four hours, with the fifth set going to a tiebreaker. Unfortunately for Davidovich Fokina, he lost the match on a point penalty after he smashed a ball in frustration.
Tommy Paul scored a much more straight forward second-round win over Adrian Mannarino. The American hasn’t lost a set yet this week, as he also made easy work of Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco. The No. 30 seed has a pair of quarterfinal results on grass this season and has a good look at the second week at the All-England Club.
Paul holds a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over Vesely, although both of their matches have gone the distance. Fatigue may well play a factor on Friday. If this goes four or five sets, Paul will almost certainly have the fresher legs.
Cheryl pick: Paul in 4
Ricky pick: Paul in 5
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Tommy in 3; Bublik in 4.