10SBALLS SHARES RICKY’S PICKS FOR FRIDAY AT WIMBLEDON TENNIS: NICK KYRGIOS VS. DUSTIN BROWN, STAN WAWRINKA VS. JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO

Written by: Staff on 30th June 2016

10SBALLS SHARES RICKY'S PICKS FOR FRIDAY AT WIMBLEDON TENNIS: NICK KYRGIOS VS. DUSTIN BROWN, STAN WAWRINKA VS. JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO

epa05396146 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland returns to Taylor Fritz of the US during their first round match of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 28 June 2016. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO COMMERCIAL SALES |

By Ricky Dimon

Still backed up because of rain despite a full day of action on Thursday, Wimbledon is putting forth another jam-packed schedule on Thursday. Two of the matches that are first up look especially entertaining. At 1:00 on Stan Wawrinka is taking on Juan Martin Del Potro, while Nick Kyrgios and Dustin Brown are getting things started on Court 1 at 11:00.

Ricky previews the action and makes his predictions.

(PR) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. (4) Stan Wawrinka

Wawrinka and Del Potro will be facing each other for the sixth time in their careers and for the first time since 2012 when they finally meet again in round two on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 3-2 in favor of Del Potro, but Wawrinka took their only previous grass-court encounter 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5 at this same tournament; of course, that came back in 2008 so the result is hardly relevant now. Much his changed since then, and not a lot in a positive way for Del Potro even though both players have become major champions. The 27-year-old Argentine has been plagued by injuries since his 2009 U.S. Open triumph, but his latest comeback from another wrist surgery is off to a strong start. Del Potro is 12-7 this season after hammering Stephane Robert 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 on Tuesday.

Wawrinka is aiming to win a major for a third consecutive season, having previously prevailed at the Australian Open in 2014 and at the French Open last year. Wimbledon is certainly not his best chance of the remaining two slams, as the fifth-ranked Swiss has never reached the semifinals at the All-England Club. His grass-court preparation included nothing more than an opening Queen’s Club setback against Fernando Verdasco, but Wawrinka beat Taylor Fritz 7-6(4), 6-1, 7-6(2), 6-4 on Tuesday. Del Potro benefited from a fatigued Dominic Thiem to score a big win in Madrid, but his next two highest-ranked opponents of 2016 took care of him in straight sets (Tomas Berdych in Indian Wells and John Isner at Queen’s Club). At this point in his comeback, winning a three-out-of-five battle with Wawrinka may be too tough for Del Potro.

Pick: Wawrinka in 4

(15) Nick Kyrgios vs. (WC) Dustin Brown

Nick Kyrgios of Australia returns to Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic during their first round match of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 28 June 2016. EPA/HANNAH MCKAY

The entertainment factor could be off the charts when Kyrgios and Brown square off for the first time in their careers. Intermixed with understandably common errors give his high-risk style of play, Brown is a human highlight film whose YouTube collection is more impressive than his actual tennis resume. The German has always done his best work on grass, and Kyrgios–even though he is clearly an all-court player–may end up achieving more success at Wimbledon than at any other major when it is all said and done. Both players have extremely compact backhands and hit the ball flat and hard to go along with huge serves, a recipe that is tailor made for for lawn tennis and one that has carried each to an upset of Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon.

This matchup came close to being denied on Tuesday, but Brown survived Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The world No. 85 is now 9-2 on grass in 2016 (a Challenger title is included in that record) and 5-5 lifetime in main-draw action at Wimbledon. Kyrgios scraped past Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(9), 6-1 for his first grass-court victory of the year after having drawn Milos Raonic in round one at Queen’s Club (a 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 loss). The Aussie is 24-9 on the season and has the first ATP title of his career under his belt (Marseille). Kyrgios thrives in the spotlight of slams and the 2014 Wimbledon quarterfinalist appears due for more success in London on the heels of disappointing third-round ousters in Melbourne and Paris.

Pick: Kyrgios in 4