Due to inclement weather over the first three days, we saw first round and second round matches at Wimbledon take place on Wednesday. Let’s take a look at two key statement wins on Wednesday, and some intriguing second round matches set to take place on Thursday.
Who delivered key wins?
What we saw on Wednesday were two key victories by grand slam champions. In an all-Italian matchup, world number one Jannik Sinner defeated Matteo Berrettini 7-6, 7-6, 2-6, 7-6. Sinner, the 2024 Australian Open, might not have been at his best, but it was good enough. He won three tiebreaks by scores of 7-3, 7-4, and 7-4. Despite having 28 aces, Berrettini, the 2021 Wimbledon finalist, had 48 unforced errors compared to 25 for Sinner.
Meanwhile on the women’s side, we have not heard much lately about 2021 Wimbledon champion Emma Raducanu of Great Britain. However, she was fantastic on Wednesday, as she beat Elise Mertens of Belgium, the 2018 Australian Open semifinalist, 6-1, 6-2.
What are the most compelling Thursday second round matches?
(28) Jack Draper–GB vs. Cam Norrie–GB
This second round matchup features two British players in Jack Draper and Cam Norrie. Draper is the seeded player, but it is Norrie who has had the better grand slam result of the two as he reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2022. Norrie has won both prior matches, 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of Queen’s in 2021, and 7-6, 6-4 in the second round of Miami in 2022.
(4) Alexander Zverev–GER vs. Marcos Giron–USA
Here we have Zverev, the 2020 United States Open finalist and 2024 French Open finalist, against American Marcos Giron, who reached the quarterfinals of Halle leading up to Wimbledon. Zverev won the only prior matchup, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the Australian Open in 2021.
(7) Hubert Hurkacz–POL vs. Arthur Fils–FRA
This match features Hurkacz, the 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist, against Arthur Fils, who like Giron, reached the quarterfinals of Halle. This will be their first meeting all-time.
Gael Monfils–FRA vs. Stanislas Wawrinka–SUI
This is a fascinating matchup as it features the 39-year-old Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, the three-time grand slam champion (2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open, and 2016 United States Open) against the 37-year-old Gael Monfils of France, the two-time grand slam semifinalist (2008 French Open and 2016 United States Open). Monfils and Wawrinka have beaten each other three times. Their last meeting was the final of Rotterdam in 2019 which Monfils won 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. This match actually started on Wednesday, with Monfils leading 7-6, 6-4, 5-5.
(30) Leylah Annie Fernandez–CAN vs. Caroline Wozniacki–DEN
This matchup contains Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez of Montreal, Quebec, the 2021 United States Open finalist against Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, the 2018 Australian Open champion. This will be their very first meeting head to head.
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