Just like that, we are into the second week of Wimbledon. Plenty of good tennis has been played, which gives us the opportunity to reflect on the tournament so far, and also provide the outlook for the next week.
Wimbledon Mid-Tournament Report
Women’s Event
The Ash Barty — Barbora Krejčíková match will be a thriller. Expect Barty to try and keep the Czech player on the run and out of position while Krejčíková will try to come into the net on the Barty backhand. If the World No. 1 didn’t have an injury cloud hanging over her head, I would back her. But given Barty’s injuries, I think Krejčíková’s winning streak will continue.
Liudmilla Samsonova has continued her good form on grass from Berlin. The young Russian has had a couple of tough wins against quality opposition in Americans Jessica Pegula and Sloane Stephens. Now, she faces an in-form Karolína Plíšková in what will be the battle of the big servers. Both girls have games suited for grass, as they hit the ball hard and flat. I’m going to give the edge to Samsonova as she is the better athlete but only by a slither.
The Aryna Sabalenka — Elena Rybakina match up is intriguing. On paper, Sabalenka is the favourite, however she has never gotten to the quarter final stage of a Grand Slam. Rybakina is in good form and has the perfect game for grass, with her big server and flat, hard ground strokes.
How good is Emma Raducanu? With her youthful exuberance, fluent, effortless ground strokes and athleticism, she has taken the tournament by storm. She will take on an in-form Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. Tomljanovic knocked out former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in a heated encounter. I actually think Raducanu can make the quarters because of her better defensive game. But Tomljanovic is a dangerous and confident opponent and shouldn’t be ruled out.
Men’s Event
Novak Djokovic was the white-hot favorite before the tournament and his form has only solidified that position. He is up against the 17th seeded Cristian Garin. This will be a challenge as Garin is playing solid tennis at the moment. But I expect Djokovic to get through this match without much trouble.
Sebastian Korda is one to watch. At only 20 years old, he has a powerful, all-court game and is capable of performing well on all surfaces. His game is reminiscent of the former Czech star Tomáš Berdych. He has a very winnable match against Russian Karen Khachanov. Look out for Korda to target Khachanov’s forehand. The reason why I say this, is that Khachanov has an extreme grip on the forehand side, making it hard for him to deal with faster, skidding shots on the grass. But he has a big serve and a powerful game, so it is hard to get to that weakness. Nonetheless, I still like the young American.
Daniil Medvedev is still in the draw, having survived an epic against Croatian star Marin Cilic. But he has a tough match against Polish up-and-comer, Hubert Hurkacz. Hurkacz won the field at the ATP Masters 1000 Miami Open and has the weapons, particularly on grass, to blast through a player like Medvedev. But fingers crossed, Medvedev can use his crafty game to outsmart Hurkacz.
Roger Federer has improved every match. While I think he will run out of steam eventually, it is still great to see him still playing at the highest level at Wimbledon. If we wins his next match, he will play the winner of Medvedev and Hurkacz. That match will be a classic.
Main Photo from Getty.
