Wimbledon R3 previews and predictions: Raonic vs. Sock, Goffin vs. Istomin

Weather permitting, Milos Raonic will continue his Wimbledon campaign on Friday against Jack Sock. David Goffin and Denis Istomin are also aiming for a spot in the second week.

(27) Jack Sock vs. (6) Milos Raonic

Two extremely familiar foes will be facing each other again when Raonic and Sock collide in round three of Wimbledon on Friday. They have squared off on eight previous occasions, all since the start of 2013. Sock won their first-ever encounter in Memphis of that year, but Raonic has since reeled off seven consecutive victories to seize a commanding 7-1 advantage in the head-to-head series. The two competitors met during second-round action at Wimbledon in 2014, when the Canadian cruised 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. He also got the best of Sock 7-6(3), 6-4 earlier this season in Miami.

Aside from the fact that he is in Novak Djokovic’s quarter of the draw, Raonic is looking like one of the top title contenders behind Djokovic and Andy Murray. Always a force on grass, the No. 6 seed finished runner-up to Murray at Queen’s Club and so far this fortnight he has disposed of Pablo Carreno Busta and Andreas Seppi in straight sets. Sock is through to the last 32 following defeats of Ernests Gulbis and Robin Haase, a stretch that saw him surrender just one set to Haase in the process. This is the 26th-ranked American’s first appearance in the third round at the All-England Club, having previously won only a single match in three trips. Especially on this surface, Raonic’s huge-serving game should simply be too much for Sock–again.

Pick: Raonic in 3

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(11) David Goffin vs. Denis Istomin

Even if Goffin loses this match, he has a chance of finding himself in the top 10 when this fortnight concludes. If he wins and ends up going as least as far as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the All-England Club, the Belgian will be just about a lock for the top 10. His draw is a bad one with Raonic potentially in the last 16 and Djokovic in the quarterfinals, which means a run like he enjoyed at Roland Garros (quarters, lost to Dominic Thiem in four sets) may not be in the cards. But Goffin cannot be underestimated on grass, as the world No. 11 reached the Wimbledon fourth round last summer and has coasted so far this week at the expense of Alex Ward and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

Up next for Goffin on Friday is a second career contest against Istomin and first in in main-draw action. Their only previous showdown came two years ago in a Monte-Carlo qualifying match, which Goffin led 6-4, 2-1 when Istomin retired. Like the 11th seed, Istomin has won six consecutive sets heading into this one. However, he dropped his first two of the tournament before storming back to overcome Kevin Anderson 4-6, 6-7(13), 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-3 on Monday. The 116th-ranked Uzbek parlayed that success into a 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-2 beatdown of Nicolas Almagro in the second round. This is a result that has come completely out of nowhere for Istomin, who had been a shocking 4-16 at the ATP level prior to his arrival in London. And this is where Istomin’s run will come to an end at the hands of a red-hot opponent.

Pick: Goffin in 4

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