Four significant second round wins for Wimbledon players

The second round finally got completed on Friday after three full days of rain. In the top half of the draw, there were four intriguing second round matches. Let’s take a look at who came away with a W.

Matteo Berrettini

Berettini, the 2021 Wimbledon finalist, is in great form as he is about to face Germany’s Alexander Zverev, the reigning Olympic gold medalist, and 2020 United States Open finalist in round three. After beating fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in round one, Berrettini faced the 15th seed Alex de  Minaur of Sydney, Australia in round two. Here Berrettini won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. De Minaur was red hot coming into Wimbledon, as he reached the final of Queen’s, where he beat Andy Murray, Diego Schwartzman, Adrian Mannarino and Holger Rune. In Berrettini’s win, he had 13 aces compared to only three for de Minaur, and had 38 winners compared to 16 for de Minaur.

Daniil Medvedev

Medvedev, the third seed, beat Adrian Mannarino of France, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6. Mannarino is unseeded but raised eyebrows with his impressive wins over Liam Broady and Taylor Fritz at Queen’s in reaching the quarterfinals. Medvedev, who won the 2021 United States Open, had 27 unforced errors compared to 38 for Mannarino in the straight set win.

Tommy Paul

Paul, the 16th seed, has had a significant tennis season in 2023. He reached the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open, and the final of Eastbourne and Mexico. In round two of Wimbledon, Paul faced the 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic of Canada, and passed with flying colours, as he came away with a 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 win. Raonic may have had 21 aces, but had eight double faults and 30 unforced errors, compared to four double faults and 22 unforced errors for Paul.

Stefanos Tsitsipas

It took two days for Tsitsipas to beat Andy Murray of Great Britain, the three-time grand slam champion. On Friday, the Greek sensation and two-time grand slam finalist came through with a 7-6, 6-7, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 win. The fifth ranked player had 17 aces and 90 winners, and looks in top form as he is set to face Laslo Djere of Serbia in round three.