Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal look to keep up their winning ways at Wimbledon as the round of 16 will take place on Manic Monday in London. Kei Nishikori is also in action. Our panelists Jim Smith and Harsh Bhoot offer their predictions including Roger Federer vs Matteo Berrettini, we also have predictions for matches featuring Novak Djokovic.
Sam Querrey vs Tennys Sandgren
Harsh: Sandgren looked extremely impressive in taking out the 12th seed Fognini in three sets. However, when he takes on Sam Querrey, he’ll be facing a man who’s run into some fantastic grass court form at Wimbledon. Querrey made 70% of his first serves and won 85% of them. If his serve is firing again which it most likely will, Sandgren’s run should come to an end. Querrey in 4
Jim: Querrey will be an opponent no one left in the draw will relish facing thanks to his history of giant-killings at the All England Club and the booming serve that took him to those famous wins. Sandgren, meanwhile, has put together another good run at a Major after reaching the 2018 Australian Open quarterfinals. But he has benefitted from a rather open draw and it is hard to see what answer he will have for the power of his countryman. Querrey in 4
Rafael Nadal vs Joao Sousa
Harsh: Rafa looked so strong in his win over Tsonga serving refreshingly well and didn’t concede a single break point. Sousa is enjoying his best ever result here but it’s tough seeing how a baseliner like him is going to match the Spaniard. Expect a lot of rallies which Rafa wouldn’t mind at all. Nadal in 3
Jim: Nadal has gone slightly under the radar so far, but he looked sharp in dispatching Jo-Wilfried Tsonga with the minimum of fuss. And the Spaniard will surely feel confident about his chances against Sousa, who endured a lengthy five-set battle with Dan Evans in the third round. One suspects Sousa would struggle to hurt Nadal at his best, with heavy legs he surely has no chance at all. Nadal in 3
Roger Federer vs Matteo Berrettini
Harsh: Berrettini has done well to live up to his expectations after a good grass court season prior to Wimbledon. The young Italian is into his first ever fourth round match at a Grand Slam but next up is arguably the biggest match of his career. Had they met at the French Open Berrettini had a chance but on the grass at Wimbledon, it’s probably too big of an ask for the rising Italian. Federer in 4
Jim: Federer did well to come through the challenge of Lucas Pouille without dropping a set, although he was perhaps indebted to lapses in the Frenchman’s concentration. He will be in for another stern test up against Italy’s Berrettini, who has enjoyed an excellent grass-court swing and has the power to really trouble Federer. But not, ultimately, to beat him. Federer in 4
Kei Nishikori vs Mikhail Kukushkin
Harsh: Nishikori would relish seeing Kukushkin on the other side of the net. Their head to head stands at 8-0 in favor of Kei and the skewed rivalry shows no sign of reversing. Kukushkin has had a great first week taking out Isner and Struff, both very good on grass. This match though won’t be about countering a huge serve but rather a duel mostly fought from the baseline. With that point in mind, it makes it tough to bet against the Japanese. Nishikori in 3
Jim: Speaking of players going under the radar, Nishikori hasn’t yet dropped a set at this year’s Championships and is enjoying a rich vein of form at the Majors. But Kukushkin is in fine fettle himself after dispatching John Isner then Jan-Lennard Struff. Nishikori, however, will present a very different challenge for the Kazakh. Expect it to be one he falls just short of conquering. Nishikori in 5
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