RICKY DIMON’S PREVIEW & PICKS FOR MONDAY’S MEN’S TENNIS SCHEDULE @ WIMBLEDON 2015

Written by: Staff on 5th July 2015

RICKY DIMON'S PREVIEW & PICKS FOR MONDAY'S MEN'S TENNIS SCHEDULE @ WIMBLEDON 2015

Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland in action against Fernando Verdasco of Spain during their third round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 03 July 2015. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA |

All 16 men left in the Wimbledon singles draw will take the court on manic Monday. Whereas Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are expected to cruise, some other matchups are tougher to pick. Andy Murray, for one, is going up against the man nobody wants to face–Ivo Karlovic. Meanwhile, Richard Gasquet and Nick Kyrgios are set for a rematch of their epic 2014 encounter.

A look at some of the marquee pairings on Day 7 (Djokovic and Federer matches previewed separately):

(9) Marin Cilic vs. (WC) Denis Kudla: Kudla is in the fourth round!?!? Kudla is the last American man left in the draw!?!? Kudla!?!? Maybe we should not be so surprised. The 22-year-old played two grass-court Challengers last month, finishing runner-up in one and winning the other. Now his ATP-level breakthrough has finally come. Both Kudla and Cilic have been five-set marathon men so far this fortnight. Is another five-setter in the cards?

(21) Richard Gasquet vs. (26) Nick Kyrgios: Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five…not eight, but nine match points. That’s how many Kyrgios saved before finally beating Gasquet in five sets last year at the All-England Club. Will it be similarly competitive 12 months later? Maybe not. Don’t let Kyrgios’ controversial on-court antics blind you from the fact that he is a far superior and more consistent player than he was in 2014. Gasquet is also in fine form, but he would rather deal with the Aussie’s firepower on clay or a slow hard court.

(4) Stan Wawrinka vs. (16) David Goffin: This a heavyweight vs. a bantamweight: think Mike Tyson vs. Floyd Mayweather. Granted that may not be a great comparison because Wawrinka and Goffin are far more likeable than those two clowns. But the bottom line is that Goffin’s speed, defense, and occasional flair will be troublesome at times, but Wawrinka has the capability to knock him out with a flurry of huge serves and backhands. The entertainment level will be high, but I am not encouraged about the underdog’s chances of taking more than one set.

(6) Tomas Berdych vs. (12) Gilles Simon: Many will be surprised to know that Simon leads the head-to-head series against Berdych 6-4. Of course, none of the Frenchman’s six victories has come on grass. This is just Simon’s second time into the Wimbledon fourth round and he has never been to the quarterfinals. Berdych, on the other hand, finished runner-up in 2010 and has advanced to the quarters on two other occasions. The surface will dictate the outcome of this one.

Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in action against Nicolas Mahut of France during their second round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 02 July 2015. EPA/ANDY RAIN

Vasek Pospisil vs. (22) Viktor Troicki: As usual, someone beats Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon and then fails to advance out of the next round. Troicki made sure that was the fate handed to Dustin Brown, as the Serb downed the German in four sets on Saturday. Now Troicki faces another unseeded upstart in Pospisil, who had never previously advanced to the last 16 of any major. Both men have played the role of spoiler this week–Troicki not only ousted Brown but also beat Britain’s own Aljaz Bedene, while Pospisil outlasted James Ward of Great Britain 8-6 in the fifth.

(23) Ivo Karlovic vs. (3) Andy Murray: It does not require statistics to know that Murray is one of the best returners on tour. You can deduce that with the naked eye. But I offer you statistics nonetheless: he is a combined 9-0 lifetime against Karlovic (5-0) and John Isner (4-0). That being said, this is not going to be easy; it never is against Karlovic–especially not on grass. But Murray has taken down the big guy once before at Wimbledon (2012) and there is no reason to think he will be unable to do so again.

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

Topics: AELTC, Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, David Goffin, Federer, Ivo Karlovic, Novak Djokovic, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych, Wimbledon Championships

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10sBalls_com says:

July 5, 2015 at 7:07 pm

-@Dimonator’s PREVIEW & PICKS FOR MONDAY’S MEN’S #TENNIS SCHEDULE @ #Wimbledon2015- http://t.co/hYqKa6VBpB @Wimbledon #AELTC #Wimbledon
Dimonator says:

July 5, 2015 at 7:14 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Dimonator’s PREVIEW & PICKS FOR MONDAY’S MEN’S #TENNIS SCHEDULE @ #Wimbledon2015- http://t.co/hYqKa6VBpB @Wimbledon #AE…