Friday Preview: Can Federer Restore Order At Wimbledon?
Friday Preview: Can Federer Restore Order At Wimbledon?
Who will be the seeded players to fall on Friday, or will the start of third-round action mark the return of “normalcy” to The Championships, Wimbledon?
Half of the 32 seeds have fallen through two rounds of play (see complete list below). But if anyone can restore order at the All England Club, surely it is eight-time champion Roger Federer. The top seed meets German Jan-Lennard Struff for the second time at a Grand Slam this year, and the second time on grass.
Federer leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0. The 36-year-old Swiss won their 2016 Gerry Weber Open matchup in straight sets, and he took their second-round Australian Open contest in January in the same fashion.
But don’t expect the big-hitting 6’5” German to get lost in the Centre Court lights; he can problem solve with the best on Tour. Struff came back from two sets down in both of his matches – against 32nd seed Leonardo Mayer of Argentina and Croatian Ivo Karlovic – to reach his first Grand Slam Round of 32.
Milos Raonic, who beat Federer en route to the 2016 final, will meet Wimbledon debutant Dennis Novak. The Austrian beat 17th seed Lucas Pouille of France to make his first Grand Slam third round. Raonic, however, hasn’t dropped a set yet and has delivered 52 aces through two matches.
American Sam Querrey, a semi-finalist last year, could have his hands full against Frenchman Gael Monfils, who leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0, although they’ve never played on grass. Monfils is trying to reach the fourth round at SW19 for the first time. He’s 0-6 in Wimbledon third-round matches.
Kevin Anderson will try to book his fourth trip to the Wimbledon Round of 16 when he meets 25th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, a 2012 quarter-finalist. Anderson leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-0.
Ninth seed John Isner and Moldova’s Radu Albot will meet for the fourth time this year (Isner leads 2-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series). Russian Daniil Medvedev, 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals semi-finalist, has already achieved his best Grand Slam result by making the third round. He’ll face 22nd seed Adrian Mannarino, who’s trying to return to the Round of 16 for the third time.
Greece’s #NextGenATP star Stefanos Tsitsipas meets Italian Thomas Fabbiano, who upset Stan Wawrinka; and Argentine Guido Pella, the dethroner of 2017 finalist Marin Cilic on Thursday, faces American Mackenzie McDonald, who’s playing in his first Grand Slam third-round contest.