Wimbledon day 3 will roll on, hopefully without rain interrupting, as the top half of the men’s draw participates in second round action. Highlights include the legendary Roger Federer against the ultimate journeyman hero Marcus Willis, Gilles Simon vs. Grigor Dimitrov, David Ferrer vs. grass specialist Nicolas Mahut, Denis Istomin vs. Nicolas Almagro, Marin Cilic vs. serve and volleyer Sergiy Stakhovsky, and American hope Steve Johnson vs. Jeremy Chardy. Our expert panel of Steen Kirby, Yesh Ginsburg, and Manuel Traquete offer their predictions.
Roger Federer vs. Marcus Willis
Steen: On one side of the net we have the king of Wimbledon, and legendary Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, on the other side we have a career journeyman who was nearly retired earlier this season, and has long languished away from the Grand Slam spotlight on the futures tour. Willis was clutch in his round 1 win against the underachieving Ricardas Berankis, but he has no tangible skills or weapons to match Federer. This is a tremendous story, and Federer, although not the player he once was, as an at times tight match against Guido Pella showed, should cruise unless he injures his back or the tennis gods intervene. The best part about tennis is it starts at love love. Federer in 3 sets
Yesh: Wouldn’t this be the greatest upset of all time? With the way Willis played in the first round, he could actually make this competitive, for a little while at least. This will be the most motivated match of his career, but the talent disparity is just too large. It would be awesome to see, but the easy money is on a quick Federer win. Federer in 3
Manuel: Willis in 3, watch this space. Well, not really, but if what would arguably be the biggest upset in tennis history does take place, I called it first.
Gilles Simon vs. Grigor Dimitrov
Steen: Simon controls the head to head, and Dimitrov has been a train wreck this year in his most important matches. Dimitrov certainly has the talent to dispatch the pesky French pusher, but I don’t think he’ll be able to put all the pieces together. Both players had relatively routine first rounders. Simon in 4
Yesh: This is another contrast of styles and Gilles Simon plays unbelievable defensive tennis, even on grass. He is beatable on the green stuff, but a slumping Dimitrov won’t have the consistency to do it. Simon in 4
Manuel: Two players who have been in a slump in recent months, barely getting any decent results. Dimitrov actually snapped a 6-match losing streak in round 1, which will surely give him some confidence. The bad news for the Bulgarian is that Simon has always dominated this matchup and it’s quite likely he’ll just make Dimitrov one too many balls again and emerge victorious. Simon in 5
Nicolas Mahut vs. David Ferrer
Steen: Mahut will have a chance if he can play his serve and volley game and Ferrer makes mistakes on his own serve. I expect this to be a long and difficult match for both veterans. Mahut is playing some of the better tennis of his career at an advanced age, while Ferrer has been in decline. Still, Ferrer looked good in the first round, and with the grass playing as slow as it is, I’m going with the Spaniard to prevail. Ferrer in 4
Yesh: Ferrer has struggled on grass at times and has started to fall off his peak, while Mahut is an excellent grass-court player who has been inconsistent for much of his career. This could be a great one, and should be a fascinating contrast of styles, but I think Ferrer is still too solid. Ferrer in 3
Manuel: Mahut might be regarded as one of the few grass specialists left on tour, but that ‘specialty’ certainly doesn’t extend to Wimbledon, where he has never played great or achieved any noteworthy results, Ferrer is desperately fighting to remain relevant on the ATP tour and despite the surface the smart money is on him to find a way through. Mahut would need to finally replicate the form he shows in grass warm-ups at Wimbledon in order to win this match. Ferrer in 4
Nicolas Almagro vs. Denis Istomin
Steen: Istomin has never lost to Almagro (5-0), and he upset the seeded Kevin Anderson in the opening round. He’s a streaky player with a lot of shotmaking ability. Although Istomin often underperforms, Almagro was pushed by dirtballer Rogerio Dutra Silva to five sets, and that raises questions about his form. The veteran isn’t the player he once was, and I’m going with Istomin in this one. Istomin in 4
Yesh: Nicolas Almagro seems to be reaching the end of his career and has never been great on grass. Istomin is a good player who can do some serious damage on a fast grass court. Istomin in 4
Manuel: Istomin’s win over Anderson was quite a surprise after his complete failure defending the Nottingham title. Even when Almagro was a top 10 player, grass was always his weakest surface, so needless to say this is a fantastic opportunity for Istomin to recover some ground in the ATP rankings by reaching the third round here at Wimbledon. Istomin in 4
Marin Cilic vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky
Steen: Cilic has never lost to Stakhovsky and he’s 4-1 in his last five matches on grass. The serve and volleyer has had career moments at Wimbledon in the past and he could always spring an upset if his aggressive game forces Cilic to spew errors, but the Croatian should find a way to dictate play with his baseline power. Cilic in 4
Yesh: Marin Cilic is working his way back from his suspension and plays amazing power tennis. Stakhovsky has some great grass credentials, including an upset of Federer here at Wimbledon three years ago. It’s probably not in the cards for him today, though, but it wouldn’t be a major shock either. Cilic in 3
Manuel: The 2014 US Open champion has been a very consistent performer at Wimbledon, only falling to eventual champion Djokovic in the past two editions. Stakhovsky certainly knows how to play on grass, as shown by his memorable upset of Federer in 2013, but expect Cilic to march through without too many problems as he looks to gain some momentum in what has been so far a disappointing season. Cilic in 3
Steve Johnson vs. Jeremy Chardy
Steen: Chardy just upset Gael Monfils and tends to play his best tennis in grand slams, but Johnson has won eight of his last nine matches on grass, and this American is fighting hard to reach the second week at Wimbledon and continue his tremendous recent play. Look for Johnson to counter Chardy’s power and prevail, he’s playing too good right now to lose to Chardy. Johnson in 4
Yesh: Steve Johnson has both been consistently rising up the rankings and has come out of nowhere at the same time. The former NCAA champion will be looking to extend his win streak, and Jeremy Chardy on grass probably won’t be the one to beat him. Johnson in 4
Manuel: Johnson has momentum from winning in Nottingham last week, but with momentum also comes potential fatigue. Chardy has hardly set the tennis world on fire in 2016, but he notched a very good win over Monfils in R1 in a very bizarre match. This is one of those matches that could easily go either way, with not much separating both players on paper, but Johnson’s more reliable serving is a likely difference maker. Johnson in 4
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