Rafael Nadal survived a 2nd round test against Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon and now gets shotmaker Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round. Kei Nishikori looks to march on against American Steve Johnson. Our panellists Yesh Ginsburg, and Harsh Bhoot offer their predictions including Rafael Nadal vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. We also have predictions for matches featuring Roger Federer and Sam Querrey.
Rafael Nadal vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Yesh: Tsonga looked great in his opening match, but that may have been due to Tomic’s lack of effort. Once upon a time he could challenge Nadal. And if his serve is clicking at 100%, he still could. We haven’t seen that elite serve in years, though. Nadal in 5
Harsh: Rafa would be elated having got the better of Kyrgios but knows full well he can’t relax one bit when he takes on Tsonga. The Frenchman is clearly past his best years on tour but not past his ability to leave everything out on the court. It’s their first meeting at a Grand Slam since the 2008 Australian Open semi-final. Expect Tsonga to redline his game for a set and that’s all he’ll get. Nadal in 4
Tennys Sandgren vs Fabio Fognini
Yesh: Sandgren seemed to be fading fast against Gilles Simon after taking a two-sets-and-a-break lead, but gutted out a win in the fifth. He’ll get to face an equally-exhausted opponent, who isn’t much of a natural fit on grass. Then again, Fognini has been playing the best tennis of his career this year. And the Italian probably has a few more drops in the tank. This battle will be very tight, and will likely come down to who can pick things up just a tiny bit at the very end. Sandgren in 5
Harsh: Sandgren took out an in-form Gilles Simon in five sets after being up two sets to love. He takes on Fognini who has had to work hard for his wins against tough opponents. Grass is not the Italian’s strong suit but he’ll fancy his chances to pip Sandgren who hasn’t had any consistency to his year. Fognini in 4
Kei Nishikori vs Steve Johnson
Yesh: Johnson is searching for just his second career second week. Unfortunately for him, he’ll meet Kei Nishikori, who is playing really well right now. Nishikori in 3
Harsh: So far so good for Nishikori who bossed Cameron Norrie in the second round to win in straight sets. Johnson generally plays well on grass and his match against De Minaur would give him a lot of confidence. Expect a lot of balls directed at Johnson’s backhand but the American can hold his own on the grass. Nishikori though has never lost to Johnson and with the way he’s been hitting the ball so far, he won’t be starting now. Nishikori in 4
Jan-Lennard Struff vs Mikhail Kukushkin
Yesh: Both of these players have been impressive this tournament. Struff is really coming into his own in recent months, though, and the grass suits him well. He should have enough to get by Kukushkin. Struff in 4
Harsh: Kukushkin would be over the moon having got past last year’s semi-finalist John Isner in an extremely surprising result. However as much as he’d like to keep going forward, Kukushkin will find it extremely troublesome to emerge victorious against Struff. The German certainly impressed in his win over Fritz and looks set to book a place in the second week. Struff in 3
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