Day 3 of Wimbledon this year will see a lot more than the scheduled 16 men’s matches. Due to the rain the first few days, plenty of matches have been pushed off from Tuesday to Wednesday (and some of Monday’s matches aren’t done yet). We’ve already shared our thoughts on those matches with you, so today we present our predictions for the 16 Round 2 matches scheduled. We look at four matches in this article, and the other 12 are split between three other articles. One features Novak Djokovic vs Kevin Anderson, the second headlines Andrey Rublev vs Lloyd Harris, and the third features Denis Shapovalov vs Pablo Andujar. Predicting this set of matches are Jim Smith, Damian Kust, and Steen Kirby.
Wimbledon Day 3 Men’s Predictions
Antoine Hoang vs Sebastian Korda
Damian:
Korda’s upset win over De Minaur was really impressive, even if the Australian almost managed to turn the match around. As such, the talented youngster should now fend off Hoang in what is a very favorable second-round draw.
Prediction: Korda in 3
Jim:
Sebastian Korda was largely excellent in beating Alex de Minaur in the first round, although he might have done better in his efforts to close the match out. He will want to guard against that going forward, but he is the better player of these two men.
Prediction: Korda in 3
Steen:
Hoang was good in the qualifiers but Korda upset De Minaur after a run in Halle. Korda can have a break-out tournament here and looks set for a bigger stage than this Round 2 match.
Prediction: Korda in 3
Jiri Vesely vs Marton Fucsovics
Damian:
Vesely can always be a factor on grass thanks to his serve, but the Czech hasn’t been playing his best tennis recently. Fucsovics always overperforms at the Major (he already kind of did with the win over Sinner), and should be able to keep the ball low to make Vesely bend the knees in the rallies. Close call.
Prediction: Fucsovics in 4
Jim:
Although he looked more at home on the clay than the grass early in his career, Wimbledon has become a happy hunting ground for Jiri Vesely. The Czech has a huge serve and the power off the ground to match. But Marton Fucsovics has power of his own and, perhaps crucially, a little more subtlety and variety than Vesely.
Prediction: Fucsovics in 4
Steen:
It’s their third meeting after splitting the first two. Fucsovics’ win over Sinner was very impressive, and although this could go either way, I give the Hungarian a slight edge despite Vesely making the fourth round twice previously at Wimbledon.
Prediction: Fucsovics in 5
Dominik Koepfer vs Soon-woo Kwon
Damian:
For his playstyle, Koepfer is surprisingly good on grass, which he showcased for example winning the Ilkley Challenger in 2019 and now easily dismantling Opelka. Playing Kwon now will require a much different type of returning, but the lefty seems to be playing with a lot of confidence at the moment.
Prediction: Koepfer in 4
Jim:
Dominik Koepfer has looked increasingly comfortable on all three surfaces over the past two years, having started his career relatively late after playing college tennis in the USA. Although he will almost certainly be tested here, with Kwon Soon-woo a fine player, the German should have the edge.
Prediction: Koepfer in 4
Steen:
Kwon is playing really well on grass and that looks set to continue in a matchup of relatively even players on paper. Kwon is another who could have a breakout run at Wimbledon after reaching the semifinals in Eastbourne.
Prediction: Kwon in 4
Andy Murray vs Oscar Otte
Damian:Otte’s never done that well on grass, but he had a fantastic run in the qualies and the win over Rinderknech was also very high-quality. The problem is that it finished with a tie-break at 12-12 and the German might be really tired. Murray is always a question mark at this stage of his career but his grit and the help of the crowd might see him through.
Prediction: Murray in 4
Jim:
Andy Murray’s performance against Nikoloz Basilashvili wasn’t flawless by any means, but he did show commendable determination to find a way past the Georgian. This should be slightly more straightforward for the Briton. Oscar Otte has power, particularly when serving, but his skillset is relatively limited. Expect Murray to outfox him.
Prediction: Murray in 4
Steen:
The qualifier Otte is good on grass, qualified well, and is improving his game. However, his resume pales in comparison to Murray, who willed himself to a Round 1 victory and has the home crowd fully behind him on every point. Murray’s nowhere near the player he was, and the lack of consistency will be frustrating for the Scot, but he’s still better than Otte on court, and on paper. Advantage to Murray to get another match in his Wimbledon return.
Prediction: Murray in 4
Main Photo from Getty.
