Wimbledon R3 previews and predictions: Tiafoe vs. Dimitrov, Medvedev vs. Fucsovics

Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov headline the order of play on Saturday, when Wimbledon finally hopes to be entirely back on schedule. Daniil Medvedev continues his campaign against Marton Fucsovics.

(10) Frances Tiafoe vs. (21) Grigor Dimitrov

It should be one of the best matches of the entire third round at Wimbledon when Tiafoe and Dimitrov square off for the fourth time in their careers. Their most recent meeting also came in Grand Slam competition and it did not disappoint; Tiafoe prevailed 7-5, 7-6(6), 6-7(1), 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals of the 2019 Australian Open. Dimitrov still leads the head-to-head series 2-1, which includes a 7-6(1), 3-6, 7-6(4) victory for the Bulgarian at the 2018 Toronto Masters.

Another fun one can be expected, as both players are great on grass and in fine form right now. Tiafoe has already won 30 matches this season, highlighted by a grass-court title in Stuttgart that propelled him into the top 10 for the first time. So far at the All-England Club he has defeated Yibing Wu and Dominic Stricker in straight sets. Dimitrov has also rolled without dropping a set, dismantling both Sho Shimabukuro and Ilya Ivashka. The 32-year-old Bulgarian is 11-3 in his last 14 matches, a stretch that features a fourth-round performance at the French Open and a quarterfinal showing at Queen’s Club. Since the spring of 2021, though, Dimitrov has been thoroughly underwhelming at slams for the most part. Tiafoe has been the opposite, and he even went all the way to the 2022 U.S. Open semifinals. Look for the American to have the upper hand at the end of a wildly entertaining contest.

Pick: Tiafoe in 4

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(3) Daniil Medvedev vs. Marton Fucsovics

Medvedev did not have the easiest of early-round draws, but he has still marched into the third round as he returns to Wimbledon for the first time since 2021 after Russians were banned last summer. Following a straight-set victory over wild card Arthur Fery, Medvedev ran into grass-court guru Adrian Mannarino but took care of business against the Frenchman by finishing off a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory on Friday afternoon.

Next up for the world No. 3 is Fucsovics, who trails the head-to-head series 3-1 (2-1 on the main tour). The 67th-ranked Hungarian won their most recent encounter, however, prevailing 6-4, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-1 at the 2020 French Open. Facing Medvedev on a surface other than clay is much tougher, but Fucsovics is excellent on grass. He is 39-23 lifetime on the surface following victories this week over Tallon Griekspoor and Marcos Giron. This should be another fun one, but Medvedev has liked this matchup in the past (other than on clay) and will be especially confident following that stellar grass-court performance against Mannarino.

Pick: Medvedev in 4

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