Daniil Medvedev leads the bottom half of the Wimbledon draw into round three on Saturday, with the Russian taking on Marin Cilic. No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev will also be in action against American Taylor Fritz.
(2) Daniil Medvedev vs. Marin Cilic
Daniil Medvedev has been in good form all week. The Russian is firmly planted on the “favorites to win the title (after Novak Djokovic)” list. He dispatched a tough first-round opponent in Jan-Lennard Struff and then blitzed the Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz in the second round. Whatever his previous grass-court complaints were, they’ve been addressed. Of course, that doesn’t mean his third-round match against Marin Cilic is going to be a breeze.
Cilic has enjoyed a resurgence this year. His ranking is back up to 37th in the world due in part to the title he won on the grass courts of Stuttgart a couple of weeks ago. He’s a dangerous opponent of grass with his big serve and improved confidence.
Medvedev will still be the favorite, and he should find his way into Manic Monday…but he’s going to have to work for it.
Cheryl pick: Medvdev in 4
Ricky pick: Medvedev in 5
(4) Alexander Zverev vs. (31) Taylor Fritz
Alexander Zverev has quietly gone about the business of making his way through the first week of the Wimbledon draw. The German seems to be off everyone’s radar, as attention is paid to Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray. The No. 4 seed hasn’t dropped a set yet, although Taylor Fritz represents a tougher opponent than either Tallon Griekspoor or Tennys Sandgren.
Taylor Fritz has worked hard for his spot in the third round. The American, who just nabbed a seed for the event, was taken to five competitive sets by compatriot Steve Johnson in the second round. Working against Fritz is his somewhat concerning 0-6 record in Grand Slam third rounds, which he continued at the 2021 Australian Open with his loss to Novak Djokovic even though Djokovic was injured.
Fritz has the tools to press Zverev, at least for a while. The American has a strong first serve and he’s playing well on grass, but Zverev is also playing well and his “good” is better than Fritz’s “good.”
Cheryl pick: Zverev in 4
Ricky pick: Zverev in 4
WWW?
Medvedev in 4 (or 3)
Berettinni in 4 (or 5)
Federer in 5 (maybe Norrie in 5) Probably the toughest of match of the day.
Bublik in 4 (or 5)
Zverev in 4 (maybe 3) That could go to 5 also.
Ivashka in 4 (maybe 5)
Sonego in 4 (or 5) Duckworth can win.
Auger-Aliassime in 4 but can win in 3 or 5 sets.
Federer could win that in 4. Doubt Norrie would win in 4.
I’m going BIG on Medvdev in 4 (and 3). No way Cilic pushes it to 5 or wins.
Bloody grass eh, most unpredictable surface. Players can just come out, get early momentum and run away with it. Some of these players need to learn to slow the game down.
That’s what I like about grass,it’s so different.Or should be.
Stop running an agenda. Honesty and integrity before your business interests.
?
Dude, where do you come up with this random sh*t? And your ‘predictions’ are more like possibilities: Federer or Norrie in 3, 4, or 5!
Based on what I’ve seen, yes, you should definitely give up. Or at least provide a warning: ‘not sound financial advice’
It’s because you don’t understand; there are many possibilities and I don’t have time nor am I willing to explain it to you.
It’s all meaningless anyway because as I stated, this year’s Wimbledon is far to unpredictable due to the interruptions, injuries and lack of match play by the overall tour.
I actually thought we saw eye to eye on many occasions previously.. It’s a shame you’ve turned out this way. Youve turned out to be a stereotypical dickhead.
Naughty Nick doesn’t think so! Was ranting about slowness of grass the other day. Mid match of course!
First service game in each set Duckworth has handed him break. Way to go.
All thse matches are looking like 3-0 which is not what the data was saying.
Thompson’s the only one putting up a fight. The others, pathetic.
If Cilic takes Med to 5 or wins, I’ll give up.
Cilic a set and a break up. TBH Med is still in first gear, he looks very flat. I think Cilic has caught him by surprise.
Time to surrender! I knew Med would win when Cilic went down in the 3rd set. Hey, he almost took Nadal out in 5 at USO 20. Cilic ain’t no Nadal.
Finally some competitive matches.
Fritz put up a decent fight. that will stop some of the bleeding.
Now for Medvedev to bring home the bacon.
It’s too easy to steamroll your opponent on grass. That’s it for me, enjoy the rest of the tournament.
Medvedev and Cilic are in a fifth set. I just haooeved to turn it on. Med had to come back from two sets down.
Med did it. His best result here.