RICKY’S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR THE DAY 4 MEN’S SCHEDULE AT WIMBLEDON

Written by: on 1st July 2015
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RICKY'S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR THE DAY 4 MEN'S SCHEDULE AT WIMBLEDON

Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland returns to Victor Estrella Burgos of Dominican Republic in their second round match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 01 July 2015. EPA/SEAN DEMPSEY  |

Ricky Dimon’s preview and picks for Day 4 Men’s Schedule @Wimbledon The Championships 2015

 

Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal will be back in action on Thursday at Wimbledon. All three cruised through round one and Murray (vs. Robin Haase) should do so once again. Federer and Nadal, however, have tough matchups on their hands in the last 64.

 

A look at some of the marquee pairings on Day 4:

 

(WC) James Ward vs. Jiri Vesely: Ward initially had a terrible draw. Then he had one of the best of anyone in the entire tournament. Once scheduled to face David Ferrer, his potential path to the second week includes lucky loser Luca Vanni (Ward already disposed of him), the unseeded Vesely, and either Fabio Fognini or Vasek Pospisil. Of course, that’s not to say Vesely will be any kind of pushover. The Czech is actually a considerable favorite over Ward.

 

Vasek Pospisil vs. (30) Fabio Fognini: What on Earth is going on out here?!?!? Pospisil made it farther in singles than his doubles partner, Jack Sock? That never happens! But it happened this fortnight and now Pospisil has a golden chance to progress even deeper in the tournament. Fognini was non-nonsense for the most part in his first-round match, but you never know what kind of mood the Italian will bring to the court on any given day.

 

(Q) Dustin Brown vs. (10) Rafael Nadal: Brown once thrashed Nadal 6-4, 6-1 on grass (last year in Halle). But that was the Spaniard’s first match of the season on grass after winning the French Open just a few days earlier. Nadal almost never fares well in those situations. If Brown accomplishes a similar feat in this setting–in the second round at Wimbledon against an opponent who has plenty of grass-court matches under his belt–it would be something far more historic…and improbable.

Dustin Brown of Germany in action against Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan during their first round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 30 June 2015. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. (23) Ivo Karlovic: Dolgopolov is 2-0 lifetime against Karlovic, 5-1 in total sets, and four of his five set victories have not required a tiebreaker. But this is a grass court we are talking about now. Expect a whole host of tiebreakers between Dr. Ivo and the Dog.

 

(25) Andreas Seppi vs. Borna Coric: Coric does not like grass and was cramping throughout the fifth set. Sergiy Stakhovsky loves grass (beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2013) and had no signs of physical problems. Yet Coric somehow managed to get the job done on Tuesday. Seppi will not be so forgiving. If anyone on tour does not beat himself, it’s Seppi (well, and Gilles Simon).

 

Robin Haase vs. (3) Andy Murray: Death, taxes, and Murray vs. Haase matches. Those are the three certainties of life. The fourth certainty is Murray always winning those matches. Haase has talent, but the Brit is not going to lose at home–especially not at an event he won in 2013. And this one may not even be competitive.

Andy Murray of Britain returns to Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in their first round match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 30 June 2015. EPA/ANDY RAIN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(6) Tomas Berdych vs. Nicolas Mahut: We are one round away from a potential Berdych vs. Lukas Rosol showdown, in which the higher-ranked Czech could once again prove that he should never be compared to his less-heralded countryman. But first Berdych has to deal with another Frenchman after taking care of Jeremy Chardy in his opener.

 

(18) Gael Monfils vs. Adrian Mannarino: Could two Frenchmen be any more different? Monfils is the master of flair; a complete box-office performer. Mannarino may bore some tennis fans with his Simon-like game, but he what he does is win–at least this year.

 

Benoit Paire vs. (20) Roberto Bautista Agut: Since winning the first set they ever played against each other, Paire has lost 10 in a row to Bautista Agut. The Spaniard leads the head-to-head series 4-0 at the ATP level and there is no reason to think he will lose to Paire on grass. Heck, he many never lose to Paire anywhere.

 

Sam Groth vs. James Duckworth: Groth and Duckworth are rooming together this fortnight and they share the same coach, Ben Mathias. Bold prediction: someone in that household and someone coached by Mathias will reach the Wimbledon third round…and then lose to Federer.

 

Sam Querrey vs. (2) Roger Federer: How good is the Centre Court lineup on Thursday? Both Nadal and Federer are there and both have to go up against well-respected grass-court players. Querrey will make this interesting at times, but will the underdog steal a set? Maybe not, because the Fed is in form.

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

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