A LOOK AT SATURDAY’S WIMBLEDON MATCHES, INCLUDING FEDERER AND NADAL BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 27th June 2014

A LOOK AT SATURDAY'S WIMBLEDON MATCHES, INCLUDING FEDERER AND NADAL BY RICKY DIMON

epa04282821 Rafael Nadal of Spain scores against Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic in their second round match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 26 June 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

Before the middle Sunday of no play at Wimbledon, the third round will wrap up with what should be a bang on Saturday. Both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are back in action and taking on unseeded opponents. Perhaps the most intriguing matchup pits John Isner against Feliciano Lopez.

(5) Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Denis Istomin: Istomin beat Wawrinka in five sets in the 2010 Wimbledon first round. Fast forward four years and Wawrinka is now a Grand Slam champion while Istomin is…well…Istomin. That being said, don’t be surprised if history repeats itself–this time in the third round.

(19) Feliciano Lopez vs. (9) John Isner: The 70-68 match between Isner and Nicolas Mahut? Probably not in jeopardy. The 19-17 tiebreaker between Isner and Jarkko Nieminen on Thursday? Probably not in jeopardy. But who knows; we are about to witness a match in which service breaks will be afterthoughts and even return points won will be few and far between.

(15) Jerzy Janowicz vs. (23) Tommy Robredo: Janowicz has one Wimbledon semifinal finish in two appearances. Robredo has no Wimbledon fourth-round trips in 12 appearances. Advantage: Janowicz…even though his five-setter against Lleyton Hewitt had to be completed on Friday.

Santiago Giraldo vs. (4) Roger Federer: The Federer of 2013 would probably make things interesting against Giraldo if not altogether lose. The Federer of 2014 will do nothing of the sort.

Roger Federer of Switzerland returns to Paolo Lorenzi of Italy during their first round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 24 June 2014. EPA/VALDRIN XHEMAJ

(8) Milos Raonic vs. Lukasz Kubot: This would really be a cracker if it was Raonic vs. Janowicz. But don’t discount the older, less heralded Pole. Kubot reached the quarterfinals last year at Wimbledon plus he made it to the fourth round in 2011 and advanced to the fourth round at the 2010 Australian Open. He has reached at least the third round of all four slams. The guy flat out knows how to get it done on the big stage.

Simone Bolelli vs. (10) Kei Nishikori: I picked Philipp Kohlschreiber to reach the Wimbledon semifinals both last year and this year. Last year he lost to Ivan Dodig in five in the first round and this year he lost to Bolelli in five in the second round. Good news for Bolelli: I’m picking his opponent again on Saturday.

Nick Kyrgios vs. Jiri Vesely: This was supposed to be Richard Gasquet vs. Gael Monfils. Two five-set thrillers later, it’s Kyrgios vs. Vesely. The winner will make a surprise appearance in the second week of a Grand Slam, something that will be the norm for these two guys sooner rather than later.

Mikhail Kukushkin vs. (2) Rafael Nadal: Nadal was supposed to play Ivo Karlovic here and then either Gasquet or Monfils on Monday. Instead, he gets Kukushkin on Saturday and then either Kyrgios or Vesely. Suddenly the draw has become a good one for the two-time champion after a not-so-good one against Lukas Rosol in round two.

Topics: Denis Istomin, Feliciano Lopez, Jerzy Janowicz, John Isner, Kei Nishikori, milos raonic, Rafael Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Santiago Giraldo, Stanislas Wawrinka, Tennis, Tennis News, Tommy Robredo, Wimbledon

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10sBalls_com says:

June 27, 2014 at 10:28 pm

A LOOK AT SATURDAY’S WIMBLEDON MATCHES, INCLUDING FEDERER AND NADAL BY RICKY DIMON (@RD_Tennistalk)- http://t.co/ZfWiJvl0zS #tennis #Wimby