Sebastian Korda will be in action on Manic Monday in his maiden Wimbledon campaign against Karen Khachanov, while riding Canadian Denis Shapovalov will battle Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut.
Sebastian Korda vs. Karen Khachanov
The lone American remaining in the Wimbledon draw has never played a Wimbledon main draw before. Sebastian Korda, who will turn 21 on Monday, has delivered an impressive first grass season. He made the quarterfinals in Halle, but his star shone brightest at the All-England Club. He dispatched two seeded players in Alex de Minaur and Dan Evans en route to the round of 16.
Opponent Karen Khachanov of Russia is just starting to right the ship after a fairly dismal spring saw him knocked out of Roland Garros in the second round and out of Halle in the first. Khachanov dropped a set to Mackenzie McDonald in the first round this week, but he has breezed through his other two matches–taking out Egor Gerasimov and Frances Tiafoe in straight sets.
This is a winnable match for the American. Korda has already displayed enough composure to withstand the crowd against him when he played Dan Evans on Centre Court, so nerves shouldn’t be a huge issue. His game has also adapted well to grass, which wasn’t a given considering he doesn’t have a monster first serve.
Cheryl pick: Korda in 4
Ricky pick: Korda in 4
(8) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (10) Denis Shapovalov
The fourth round match between Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut and Denis Shapovalov of Canada is a bit of a Manic Monday wildcard. The two men have never played before, which is a bit surprising given that Shapovalov turned pro in 2017. They have both had inconsistent results in 2021, as well.
Bautista Agut had a good start to the season but slumped a bit on European clay. Shapovalov endured a poor start to the year, but he has come on lately with a semifinal showing at Queen’s Club. Of course, he was also pushed to five sets in the first round last week by German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber–who is currently ranked 115 in the world.
The surface favors the Canadian. Shapovalov’s power game generally translates well to grass, but it should be noted that the No. 10 seed has an unfortunate habit of underperforming at the majors. Bautista Agut made the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2019, so the Spaniard is clearly capable of playing well on the lawns even though he was knocked out early in both of his Wimbledon warmup events.
The outcome of this one could well come down to whichever player handles the big moments better.
Cheryl pick: Bautista Agut in 5
Ricky pick: Bautista Agut in 5
WWW?
Bautista Agut is only a notch below the top guys on grass. Not easy beating him at Wimbledon with plenty of matches under his belt.
Both of these matches seem totally even….very tough to pick a winner….and that means fun TV watching! Korda in 5….Shapo in 4.
That’s 4 breaks of serves (2 each) in the 5th set.
This will really test Korda’s resolve.
Khachanov just wont go away. Was down 40:15 just then also.
If you don’t take your opportunities, someone else will.
You fkd it Korda. It was there for the taking.
8 breaks of serve in the 5th. Did we say this years Wimbledon was unpredictable.