For the recap of Day 3 Women’s action, click here
Day 3 of Wimbledon 2015 was uneventful. Kei Nishikori withdrew from the tournament with an injury. Expectations were mixed for the 2014 US Open runner-up, but everyone certainly expected him to show better than what occurred here. We just have to hope he can stay healthy in the future so that he can achieve all that he is capable of. Meanwhile, the struggling Grigor Dimitrov and Richard Gasquet, who have both been slumping recently, played well in setting up the highest-profile Round 3 match.
Who Looked Good:
John Isner (defeated Ebden 62 76(8) 64): John Isner won 38% of return points and broke serve four times. Sure, Ebden is no elite player. But this was still a strong showing on grass from a player who will be unbeatable if he can keep that return point won % in or near the 30s. He was aggressive on Ebden’s second serves, which is always important for him, winning over half of his second serve returns.
David Goffin (defeated Broady 76(3) 61 61): Broady is not a top player, which is the type of player that Goffin excels about. He has not yet made the leap to where he can challenge the top players on the biggest of stages. He just doesn’t have the power. But he is getting better and his game is constantly evolving. The draw is clearing up for him to make a good run here and a fascinating fourth-round match with Stan Wawrinka potentially awaits.
Richard Gasquet (defeated De Schepper 60 63 63): This was vintage Gasquet. His defense was strong and his backhand was beautiful off the grass. He won over 50% of his return points. De Schepper’s serve isn’t so great, but Gasquet was amazing on return. It was nice to see this Gasquet show up again and he can go far if this form stays.
Who Looked Bad:
Marin Cilic (defeated Berankis 63 46 76(6) 46 75): Honestly, Cilic did not play a bad match. It was a high-quality match full of attacking tennis. But Cilic is supposed to be significantly better than Berankis and should not have put himself in position to lose the second and fourth sets. He gave up a break in each that he couldn’t find a way to earn back and it meant an unnecessary two hours on court. We’ll see if that affects him moving forward.
Kei Nishikori (withdrew against Giraldo): This is another unfortunate result for Nishikori, who is supremely talented but has never managed to stay healthy enough long enough to really consistently challenge at the highest levels. It’s sad, but hopefully he can stay healthy in the future.
Marcos Baghdatis (defeated Millman 67(5) 26 63 62 64): Baghdatis is not the player he once was. The Cypriot is almost a decade removed from his Australian Open appearance and never really managed to back up that result in his career. Still, this is his second third-round appearance in Wimbledon since 2008 and he still has the talent to do well here. But losing the first two sets against the young and unheralded Aussie isn’t that. Maybe he’s past the time where we can expect a lot from Baghdatis, but he still just has too good of a grass game to justify poor results.
Nick Kyrgios: This is not about how he played. For the second straight match, his antics while on court have him in the news during a straight sets win. There is no reason to make intimidating comments to a linesman and the umpire. Just play tennis.
Match of the Day
This is a bit of a tough choice. There were several five-set matches, though none were superlative. Still, the Cilic/Berankis match was solid quality. Two players played strong attacking tennis for a full five sets. Ricardas Berankis played one of the best matches of his life to earn a break in the second and fourth sets and four break chances in the fifth.
Now, it’s tough to compliment Berankis too much without critiquing Cilic a little. Cilic never closed the door on Berankis when he had the chance. Still, the match was intense with a tense fifth set that required real guts from Cilic to win. The stats from this match deserve mention too. Berankis hit 50 winners to 25 unforced errors while Cilic hit 66 winners to 26 errors. A combined +65 on the statsheet tells you that this was a good match on a good fast court.
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