The drama was absolutely incredible on Day 4 of the men’s singles at Wimbledon. Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz were among the players to complete their second-round contests. An incredible eight matches went to a deciding fifth set on Day 4. This article picks one of those eight epics as the match of the day, as well as overviewing who looked good and bad.
Wimbledon Day 4 Men’s Recap
Novak Djokovic had a tougher match than many expected against the British wild card Jacob Fearnley. He needed four sets to win 6-3 6-4 5-7 7-5. The quality of the contest was very high from start to finish, with Fearnley’s backhand being particularly impressive. Djokovic was thoroughly tested throughout.
Holger Rune also progressed to the next round in four sets on Day 4 of Wimbledon. The Dane recovered from losing the first set to triumph 3-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 against Thiago Seyboth Wild. Rune had to weather an early storm against the powerful Seyboth Wild, but the Brazilian ran out of steam in the final two sets.
French Open runner-up Alexander Zverev was a more comfortable winner in London. He eased past Marcos Giron 6-2 6-1 6-4. For the second match in a row, Zverev did not get broken. He spoke before the tournament about being more confident on grass this year, and he has shown it in the opening couple of rounds.
Taylor Fritz is into another Wimbledon third-round after overcoming Arthur Rinerknech 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-4. The American also defeated the Frenchman at Roland-Garros just over a month ago. Rinderknech did not make it easy, but Fritz was always in relative control on Court 12.
Arthur Fils also impressed against Hubert Hurkacz, even though the match ended unfortunately, with the Pole retiring in the fourth set tiebreak at 7-6 6-5 2-6 6-6 to Fils. However, that should not take anything away from Fils’ performance, who had a great chance of knocking out the No. 7 seed before he had to retire.
Who Looked Bad
Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered the most surprising defeat on Day 4 of Wimbledon. He was beaten 6-7 6-7 6-3 3-6 by Emil Ruusuvuori. Although his Finnish opponent played very well, Tsitsipas did not reach the level he is capable of, giving Ruusuvuori a chance to take advantage.
Karen Khachanov was the third seeded player to exit. The Russian lost in five sets to Quentin Halys, with the final score ending 6-4 3-6 6-3 3-6 4-6. Khachanov being unable to close the match out after taking the third set was quite a shock, but he never looked fully comfortable in the windy conditions in London.
The 28th seed Jack Draper also had a disappointing day at Wimbledon. He fell 6-7 4-6 6-7 to his compatriot Cameron Norrie on Court 1. There were high hopes for Draper this year after he won the title in Stuttgart a few weeks ago, but he could not find his best level against Norrie.
Match of the Day
As mentioned before, there were eight five-set men’s matches on Day 4 of Wimbledon. Aside from Halys, Ben Shelton, Lorenzo Musetti, Grigor Dimitrov, Francisco Comesana, Alejandro Tabilo and Denis Shapovalov were other players to progress in a deciding set.
But 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry’s exit is chosen as the best contest of Day 4. His second-round battle against Alexei Popyrin came down to very fine margins, which is unsurprising because of how well Popyrin serves. Despite this, Etcheverry got himself into a winning position after the third set, when he led 6-3 4-6 6-4. However, the Argentine paid the price in the end for not taking his chances, squandering 10 of the 13 break point chances he had. By contrast, Popyrin converted four of his seven opportunities to break. That proved to be the most crucial factor in Etcheverry’s 6-3 4-6 6-4 4-6 3-6 defeat.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
