Tennis Acumen

Alex De Minaur Tops Taylor Fritz to Win 2019 BB&T Atlanta Open

KARL CORBETT in ATLANTA

 

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Alex De Minaur, the Champion in Atlanta as confirmed by the video board.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Champion Alex De Minaur and Finalist Taylor Fritz after receiving their trophies.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Alex De Minaur celebrates after winning the title.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Sunday July 28th in Atlanta, and it's the finals at the men’s 250 tennis tournament here. Our competitors are American Taylor Fritz and Australian Alex De Minaur. Since the tournament moved here from Indianapolis in 2010, an American has won every title every year except one, and an Australian won it that year. An American and an Australian face each other across the net today. Cloudy skies and temperatures in the upper 80s, with a slight breeze, make for ideal conditions for match play. With veteran Mohammed Leyani in the chair, our match gets underway right on time.

Fritz serves. He has to shake the cobwebs off and save a break point in order to hold. De Minaur gives up just a single point in his service game and we are underway. Serving at 2-3. De Minaur is hitting the ball so hard he breaks a string. He holds at love once again. From the chair, Leyani makes sure the racket is sent to be restrung.

At 3-3, Fritz faces a breakpoint. The crowd, pulling for the American, erupts once he saves it. But De Minaur, unflappable, earns another break point…. and Fritz double faults. They change hands with De Minaur serving, and leading 4-3. The crowd calls out: “Come on, Taylor!”, but it doesn't help. De Minaur holds again and leads, 5-3. Fritz is looking discouraged… and De Minaur keeps charging: scrambling to run balls down and sending back an unpredictable variety of ground strokes over the net. Fritz wins a point, and only one, in his own service game. So De Minaur takes his seat, having won the first set, 6-3. He's given up just one point against serve, and has taken the first set in 30 minutes.

Mohamed Lahyani in the Chair for the Atlanta Final.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Second set, serving at 1-2, Fritz delights the crowd with an ace down the “T”, a challenge won and a screaming forehand winner down the line to take the game. We stand at 2-2. However, the championship seems to be slipping away from Taylor Fritz. Fritz doesn't seem to have any answers… and he can't make a real dent in De Minaur’s service games. In a matter of minutes, De Minaur walks to the bench with another service hold, and leads 4-3. 

New balls, please. 

Taylor Fritz crushes a first serve in Atlanta.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Fritz leads, 40-love on his serve, gives up a point and then smacks a 128 mile per hour service ace. We're tied at 4-4. It's been one hour, exactly since the match began. The crowd is like a rollercoaster, cheering on Fritz's serve and deadly quiet on De Minaur’s, especially in this next game. Another love hold puts De Minaur ahead, 5-4. The crowd roars as Fritz holds at love. The score is 5-5. De Minaur takes the ball and runs Fritz side to side, eventually blowing the ball by him, point after point and caps his love hold with an ace. It's 6-5, with De Minaur in the lead, and we are running out of time.

Fritz aces, then makes a rare appearance at the net to take the first two points and marches on to hold. Now it’s 6-6. Let’s have a tie-break. Fritz hasn't lost his confidence, but De Minaur keeps putting a dent in it. Fritz wins De Minaur’s first service point on a challenge. De Minaur takes it right back on the next point. 1-1. Fritz takes another De Minaur service point to go up 2-1. De Minaur takes it right back. It's 2-2, and then the wheels come off. De Minaur rips off five straight points and it's over.

Alex De Minaur on his was to the second title of his career.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Taylor Fritz serving big in Atlanta.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Fritz, known as a big server, hit nine aces in the match. De Minaur nearly matched him with 8. De Minaur lost only 10 points on serve in his 10 service games as he took this title. It was just flawless tennis. 

It's a final. The trophies are presented. Everyone is thanked, and it's on to the next town for this circus that we call professional tennis. Fritz has hit a new career-high at number 30, and he has off to Los Cabos. De Minaur has his second tour-level title….  and he's off to Washington. We look forward to their next meeting.

Alex De Minaur Defeats Reilly Opelka to Advance to Atlanta Final

KARL CORBETT in ATLANTA

Before the semifinal in the tunnel & following the match at net.  Photos: Karl Corbett

Reilly Opelka was 17 years old, and Alex De Minaur was 16 when the two met in the 2014 Wimbledon juniors. Opelka won the third set, 13 games to 11. In Sydney this year, De Minaur had home court advantage and beat Opelka in the second round 6-4, 7-6 on his way to the title. Both players are up-and-coming. Opelka is at a career-high of number 43 this week and De Minaur stands at number 31.

Opelka starts as expected, with two aces and 3 serves over 130 miles per hour in just the first game. De Minaur holds at love and the players settle in for battle, as action continues. De Minaur starts expressing his frustration at his inability to block Opelka’s pounding serves back into play.  De Minaur sends an occasional serve straight to Opelka body, taking away any power his return would otherwise have. Both players are willing to charge the net. This is entertaining tennis. At 3 all, 30-30, Opelka follows up his serve with a cross-court rocket for a winner, pumps his fist and roars. He takes the game and we are at 4-3, with De Minaur now serving. New balls, please.

Opelka wins his first return point of the match, but it's the only point he will win this game. De Minaur already has three love holds. His service is surprisingly effective. This is clearly not going to be a one-sided affair. At 4-4, De Minaur earns a break point with a half-volley that lands at the feet of a charging Opelka. Opelka saves that, and a second break point, then closes the game with back-to-back aces. Opelka leads, 5-4.

Of course, we go to a 6-6 tiebreak. De Minaur seems to have the upper hand. He's lost only 2 points against serve, one of those on a double fault. His scrambling style is serving him well. Two players, staring at each other across the net and Opelka blinks first. He double-faults at 4-4.  De Minaur serves it out to win the first set.

Alex De Minaur takes the opening set in a tiebreaker.  Photo: Karl Corbett

In the second-set, parity continues. When De Minaur serves and takes a 3-2 lead, Opelka is shouting at himself back in his chair at the change of ends. De Minaur’s variety,  including short balls that Opelka can't reach, are taking their toll. Opelka gives up three of the first four points in his service game and he is staring at 15-40. Break point one: He wins the rally with a series of devastating forehands. Break point two: an ace at 122 miles per hour down the ‘T’. Opelka rights the ship. Four straight points get us to 3-3.

From there, the bombing continues. Nobody gets close to a break point, and we arrive at 6-6 in the second set. It’s tiebreak time, and it goes back and forth. With Opelka serving at 5-6, De Minaur hits a ball at the baseline off his ankles and down the line, a scorching winner.  Opelka counters with an ace at 141 miles an hour. With the tiebreak on the line Opelka draws an error to win the second set. He leaps into the air, beating his chest, pumping his fist. The crowd roars with him.

In the land of the Falcons, the lengthy wingspan of Reilly Opelka.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Two hours in…. and set 3 begins. This is good tennis. Both players are steady, moving well and showing good ball control, creating angles when they come to the net. Nobody gets close to a break point. The high quality of play continues to two games all. Then, De Minaur draws two errors and wins a break point on yet another Opelka error, this one driven into the net. Now, it's De Minaur’s turn to roar. He now serves, up 3-2 and holds to 4-2. Opelka is off kilter, missing first serves and making routine balls look difficult. Opelka saves two break points, then double faults to set up a 3^rd. He gets himself out of trouble with massive serves, but he is still down a break and De Minaur is fired up. He holds at love and leads 5-3. Opelka struggles in his service game which goes to deuce,   then advantage out and then game set and match.

De Minaur has not been broken in the entire tournament this far, giving up very few points in his 32 service games.

After the match, De Minaur talked about his ability to stay calm and focused. He did exactly that today. He also talks about the rhythm, the practice and the repetition which has made his serve so devastating. Looking forward to tomorrow's final., he doesn’t say much. He just smiles.

Alex De Minaur will next face American Taylor Fritz in the BB&T Atlanta Open Final.

 

 

 

Reilly Opelka Advances to Atlanta Semifinals

KARL CORBETT in ATLANTA

Reilly Opelka on his way to the Atlanta semifinals.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Another quarter-final match here at the Atlanta 250 tennis tournament. Playing each other for the first time, we have Daniel Evans, a 29-year old from Birmingham, England standing across the net from 21-year old American Reilly Opelka, who has broken into the top 50 with his success this week in Atlanta. 

Opelka starts out shaky and goes down 0-30 to begin the match. He evens the score with a 136 mph serve and takes the 1st service game. By the end of the game, Opelka has served five aces. He is looking sharp. They have played enough points that you can tell:  Daniel Evans knows how to handle a serve. The war is on. 

Minutes later, Evans takes his service game to 40-love after a 20-ball rally, serves an ace down the ‘T’ and the match is tied at two games all

At three games apiece, Evans begins to pump himself up, jumping around as he's ready to receive a serve. That fresh energy comes in handy for Evans. Serving at 3-4, he saves two break points to stay on track. Four games all. 

By the time Opelka finishes his service game to go ahead 5-4, he has banged out 11 aces. With Evans serving at 5-6, Opelka makes an unfortunate error and shows signs of being visibly upset. Now, he is chirping with his box and talking to himself. He makes a couple of extra errors to take the first set to a tiebreaker. 

Opelka starts the tiebreak and again makes an error shouting his dismay as Evans goes ahead by one service point.  Opelka wins Evans first service point with a screaming cross-court winner, and we are all even. Improbably, Evans double faults. Now, he’s given up both his service points. The scales have shifted radically in under a minute.  Serving at 3-1, Opelka makes another error, screams in frustration, and we end up on the benches tied at three all.

After the change of ends, Opelka wins Evans’ next service point with solid baseline play. We now have five points against serve, out of seven points played. Evans does not win another point, and Opelka takes the first set tiebreak, 7-3. Evans scored 39 points in the set, but Opelka’s 38 points were better timed.

At this point, it is offense against defense: Opelka attacking his ground strokes and coming to the net, Evans scrambling and hustling on every point, keeping the ball in play.

Dan Evans competing in the Atlanta quarterfinals.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Fast forward to 3-3 in this second set, Evans has one only two points against serve, Opelka just three points. This is just superb tennis. Evans has proven he can take a punch, and now he is serving as effectively as his opponent. Evans shows amazing defense, returning two overhead smashes, back to back, forcing Opelka to put a ball away for a third time.  This is “lights out” play on both sides of the net.

At five all, both players have managed only four points against serve. Now, the game changes. Something has to give, and it’s Evans. Serving at 5-5, Evans makes an error at deuce and Opelka has a break point. He converts, to go ahead 6-5. Driving it off the lot, Opelka serves aces at 143 and 145 mph, shows deft touch on a rally to go up 40-0 and closes the match with a 134-mph ace.

In his press conference, Opelka said: “He hurt with that backhand slice. It’s a low ball, and it’s tough for a big guy to get down and go after it. I didn't feel comfortable out there, but I found a way to win, even though I wasn’t at my best. I was prepared to go into a third set. I even had a game plan in mind that I was pretty confident with. Glad to finish in two sets, of course.”

Alex De Minaur Wins Battle of Australians in Atlanta to Advance to Semifinals

KARL CORBETT in ATLANTA

Warmups prior to the opening quarterfinal in Atlanta.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Friday, the 26th July in Atlanta and, on another perfect day for tennis, we are into the quarterfinals. Two Australians face off, once again. 20-year old Alex De Minaur is nicknamed “Demon”, and his opponent, 26-year-old Bernard Tomic, has demons of his own.

Tomic comes out playing steady, graceful tennis. He saves two break points at 1-2. He has good hands, guides the ball expertly, and wins a lengthy game with patience and variety. At this point, however, Tomic is showing signs of physical problems.

Alex De Minaur unleashes a forehand on his way to a quarterfinal win.  Photo: Karl Corbett

De Minaur is hitting the ball as hard as he can, most of the time. He slows it down occasionally, and gives away the fact that he is coming to the net, which he is fond of. Serving at 2-3, Tomic cannot overcome another 15-40 deficit. He is broken twice in a row and the first set goes to the “Demon”, 6-2.

At the break, Tomic calls a trainer, complaining about his taped back and his abdomen, where he has suffered serious injuries before. In the second set, De Minaur breaks Tomic right away for a 2-0 lead. De Minaur makes a statement, winning his next service game with four straight Aces, to go up 3-0. 

Bernie Tomic prior to a 2nd set retirement.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Tomic retires, citing injury, and the match is over. Does this raise questions about attitude and effort on Tomic’s part? It shouldn’t, at least this time. He played well for as long as he could. In De Minaur’s comments on court after the match, he said: “I'm happy to win but I like to play matches out, not win this way.” De Minaur is on to the semi-finals here in Atlanta, marked improvement who came into this tournament with only four match wins in the last four months. 

Ironically, De Minaur and Tomic may meet again next week in Washington in the 2nd round.  De Minaur has a 1st round BYE and Tomic will need to defeat Andrey Rublev in the opening round for the rematch to unfold.

Tomic Wins & Will Face Another Australian in the Quarterfinals in Atlanta

KARL CORBETT in ATLANTA

A view of the city from the Grandstand at the BB&T Atlanta Open.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Thursday was a gorgeous day in Atlanta. Warm and breezy and a perfect day for tennis.

The featured match of the day demonstrated the international nature of the game. Matt Ebden, age 31, was born in The Republic of South Africa.

Bernard Tomic, age 26, was born in Germany and lives in Monte Carlo. They both play under the Australian flag.

Tomic has won all three matches they have played, most recently a qualifying match in Cincinnati, almost 5 years ago.

The stage is set for two Australians to go head-to-head. Compared to the big servers, this match seems really slow. First serves range from 95 to 110 miles per hour with an occasional  120. Second serves come across the net at below 75 miles per hour.

There were three breaks early on in the first set, back to back, in games 3, 4 and 5.

It’s fun to watch. Lots of slices. Placement versus power. Both players massaging the ball unpredictably. It's not furious, but it is entertaining tennis.

Bernie Tomic advances to the Quarterfinals.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Both players are playing well and serving well,  going for big shots and making them consistently. Ebden used the drop shot to great effect, but Tomic’s extra break in game 5 held up and, and the first set went to Tomic, 6-4. 30 points were scored on each side of the net.

In the second set, a pattern of rapid play emerges. Both players’ service games are, on average, under 2 minutes. At 5-5, Tomic has a break point, but Ebden wins the rally when Tomic leans the wrong way and watches helplessly as an Ebden forehand drops on the baseline. With three double faults in that game alone, Ebden is lucky to escape and get to a tiebreak.

Ebden’s luck does not hold, and a double fault gives Tomic the edge he needs to win the second set tiebreaker and the match.

Tomic will go on to play Alex de Minaur, another Australian ‘up and comer’, in the quarterfinals

 

Opelka vs. Isner - Battle of the Titans in Atlanta

KARL CORBETT in ATLANTA

Monday night at the BB&T Atlanta Open.  Photo: Karl Corbett

It’s a battle of the titans here in Atlanta, as the two biggest servers in the game face off.

Looking at all of the service records in men’s tennis, we are seeing a changing of the guard that happens just once in a generation. At forty years old, six foot eleven inches tall, Croatian Ivo Karlovic has held just about every record over the years, including a top ten record of 59 aces in a single match, earlier this year at the Australian Open.

American John Isner, standing six feet ten inches tall, is best remembered for a marathon match at Wimbledon in 2010, with a fifth set ending with Isner on top, 70 games to 68. Both Karlovic and American John Isner have placed serves in excess of 156 miles per hour.

On Monday, 34-year old American John Isner faced a new titan, American Reilly Opelka, age 21.

Isner has the home court advantage here in Atlanta. He played college tennis at the University of Georgia, and has won this tournament five times. 

Opelka can walk on court with confidence, however, having beaten Isner twice this year, in New York, where he took his first title, and at the Australian Open. 

Reilly Opelka on his way to advancing in Atlanta.  Photo: Karl Corbett

This is predictable tennis. Ace after ace, six games all in the first set. As the tiebreak begins, Isner has already hit twelve aces, Opelka eleven. Only twelve points have been scored against the serve in twelve games. 

Early in the first set tiebreaker, Opelka blocked a couple of serves, managed to stay in some points and earned a point against serve. At 4-1, an easy put-away shot by Isner, at the net, comes back as a screaming cross-court winner. Opelka leads 5-1, then hits an amazing shot that just grabs the line, and takes the first set.  

In the second-set, serving at 1-2, Opelka sends a 110 mile per hour serve out wide. It's both power and finesse now, Opelka adding accuracy to raw speed. Isner can't touch the ball. Then, ace after ace, Opelka caps of the first set tiebreak with a serve at over 130 miles an hour.

Second set. Over and over, returners watch a ball go by, nod their heads, and carry on with grim determination. At change-overs, Isner always marches back on court with a towel between his teeth. Opelka adjusts his hat to settle in for another game. Serving at 4-4, Isner double-faults to 15-30 and the crowd comes alive, calling his name. It’s home court advantage, and Isner takes the next three points to close out the game. How about a tiebreak, once again? Early on, Opelka unleashes at 138 miles per hour. Not every ball is an ace, though. With Opelka serving at 2-3, Isner blocks a serve back into play and wins a rare rally to go up 4-2. In a matter of moments. Isner serves the tiebreak out, winning 7-5.

5-time Atlanta Champion John Isner.  Photo: Karl Corbett

One set all. 

These games are predictable, yet awesome to watch. It is a war game, after game.

It’s the third set, tied at 5-5. We are even, at 27 points apiece.  Serving at 15-30, Opelka falters. He double-faults, and Isner has his first break points, after two hours and 15 minutes. Opelka goes big to Isner’s backhand, saves both break points, and then a third. 

Why don’t we just have a third-set tiebreak?

When we do see a rally, Isner is hitting the ball flat and hard. Opelka is lifting and steering the ball, sacrificing speed for placement. Early in the tiebreak, Opelka blocks a serve to the body, and it comes back as an improbable drop shot winner. Opelka leads, 2-1. Next point, Opelka hits his fastest serve of the night, 139 miles per hour, for a clean ace. It’s 3-1. Next ball. An ace up the ‘T’, and it’s 4-1. 

Isner takes his points, but with Opelka serving at 4-3, Isner can’t take advantage of a rally, and hits a ball short and wide, that drops at the umpire’s feet. 

Pressure. Opelka has match point, serving at 6-5, but misses his first serve. Isner takes the second serve, creates a rally and comes to the net. Opelka places the perfect passing shot to take the match.  

Three tie-break sets, Opelka winning two sets to one. So far, this year, Opelka stands 3-0 against Isner, and every one of their ten sets played has gone to a tiebreak.

Reilly Opelka held his ground in Atlanta, John Isner’s home turf. He’s certainly a force to be reckoned with. With this victory, Opelka hits a new career high at number 46 in the world…  

 

Wimbledon final expert picks: Djokovic vs. Federer

This article originally appeared on The Grandstand.

It will be Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer for the Wimbledon title on Sunday afternoon. The Grandstand’s Ricky Dimon and Cheryl Murray along with Pete Ziebron of Tennis Acumen preview the action and make their picks.

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (2) Roger Federer

Ricky: Federer and Rafael Nadal occasionally produce the instant classics that live in history. But Federer vs. Djokovic delivers the goods on the most consistent basis of the Big 3 (or even Big 4) matchups. And another good one is almost certainly in store. Federer has dropped only three sets this fortnight and he is coming off an awesome performance against Nadal in the semis. Djokovic surrendered just two total sets during his trip to the title match. The world No. 1 leads this extensive head-to-head series 25-22 and 2-1 on grass. That doesn’t mean much. But 2-0 in Wimbledon finals and 8-2 in their last 10 overall are numbers worth nothing. Given that Djokovic also took care of business in an easier semifinal, he gets the nod. Djokovic in 5: 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4.

Pete: Historically, this may very well prove to be a pivotal match with respect to the final total of majors won by the Big 3. With a win, Federer increases his margin to six over Djokovic (and three over Nadal). A Djokovic victory elevates his tally to 16–two behind Nadal and four behind Federer and concurrently cements the fact that he will have won four of the last five majors. Since the last time they met at a slam (2016 Australian Open), Federer has added Ivan Ljubicic to his team–a man who has beaten Djokovic, Nadal, and even Federer himself multiple times. The Ljubicic presence has enabled Federer to creatively refine his game-plan (as evidenced against Nadal) and he will look to successfully implement these tactics in the final against Djokovic. Federer in 5: 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4.

Cheryl: Federer-Djokovic doesn’t necessarily pack the punch that a Nadal-Federer final would, but it’s hard to complain about the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds squaring off for the title at Wimbledon. Djokovic enjoys a slight head-to-head edge over Federer, but he’s won the lion’s share of their most recent matches. In fact, the last time Federer got a ‘W’ over Djokovic was in round-robin play at the ATP Finals back in 2015. Both men have enjoyed a great fortnight, but Federer had to face Nadal in the semis while Djokovic’s opponent was Roberto Bautista Agut. Although both matches went four sets, the Federer-Nadal battle was the more physical and certainly more emotional. Going into Sunday’s match I give Djokovic the edge, as he’s historically been able to handle the Federer serve and because of the fact that Federer has never managed to beat both Nadal and Djokovic in the same slam–or even at any tournament other than the 2010 ATP Finals. Djokovic in 4: 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6.

 

Wimbledon Day 5 expert picks, including Medvedev vs. Goffin and Khachanov vs. Bautista Agut

The following article originally appeared on The Grandstand.

Third round action at Wimbledon gets underway on Friday, when some familiar foes will bee facing each other again. Among them are Daniil Medvedev and David Goffin. Ricky Dimon of The Grandstand and Tennis Acumen's Pete Ziebron make their predictions. 

(11) Daniil Medvedev vs. (21) David Goffin

Ricky: Medvedev and Goffin also squared off in the Australian Open third round and the Russian took Goffin to the woodshed in straight sets. Although the Belgian has gotten back in gear and finished runner-up in Halle, Medvedev has also rebounded from a brief slump with a semifinal showing at Queen’s Club and two mostly routine wins so far at the All-England Club. The No. 11 seed will win far more free points on serve and his backhand works to perfection on grass, so I think he has an edge in what should be a much more competitive contest than the one Down Under. Medvedev in 4: 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(7).

Pete: Both Medvedev and Goffin arrive in the third round feeling fresh, having lost a combined one set in their first two matches. Ironically, this is the only one of the four contests in the Djokovic quarter on Friday that features two seeded players. Medvedev has shown consistent flashes of brilliant play on tour but has yet to make a deep run at a major. Goffin pick up his first win at Wimbledon since 2016 earlier this week and managed to win one of the two sets dropped by Rafael Nadal in his dominant Roland Garros title run. Medvedev continues to improve and defeats the Belgian for the second straight time at a major this year. Medvedev in 4: 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4.

(10) Karen Khachanov vs. (23) Roberto Bautista Agut

Ricky: Like Medvedev and Goffin, Khachanov and Bautista Agut also met at the Australian Open. Like Medvedev, Bautista Agut turned it into a laugher (6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to be exact). Th Spaniard leads the head-to-head series 3-2, with both of Khachanov’s wins having come on clay. Although both men are all-court players, clay–as the aforementioned results suggest–is far more conducive to the Russian’s game. On any other surface, RBA has been and will likely continue to be too tough. Bautista Agut in 4: 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4.

Pete: Khachanov will arrive at this match feeling good about the fact that he eliminated an in-form Feliciano Lopez in the previous round. The Russian’s game is solid on all surfaces and despite an unexpected five match losing streak earlier this year, appears to be correcting course at this time. In Bautista Agut’s last four losses at Wimbledon, he has been eliminated in straight sets, winning just: 6, 10, 7, and 7 games respectively in these matches (including one to Bernard Tomic). Bautista Agut will compete significantly in this match but it will result in a loss to Khachanov, who is eyeing a potentially deep run this year. Khachanov in 4: 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-3.

Reilly Opelka vs. (15) Milos Raonic

Ricky: A matchup of this nature between two huge servers is almost always a crapshoot, complete with a whole host of tiebreakers. Anything can happen. Who knows, we might even get a tiebreaker at 12-12 in the fifth set. But you have to give an edge to the Canadian based on his experience and his successful history at Wimbledon (runner-up in 2016, semifinal in 2014, two straight quarterfinals) and Opelka is coming off an 8-6 in the fifth set battle with Stan Wawrinka. Raonic in 4: 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(6).

Pete: Surprise! Opelka dashed Wawrinka’s slim hopes of completing a career slam by coming back for a two set to one deficit to extinguish the Swiss and advance to the third round in his first appearance in the Wimbledon main draw. The young American was on a four match losing streak before his winning his opening match here at the third major of the year. Following his run to the final three years ago, Raonic has reached the quarters at the Championships in each of the last two years. The Canadian also played two grass-court events this year, notching five wins in the process. Raonic has 23 wins at Wimbledon since 2014 and certainly knows the route to victory again in this match. Raonic in 4: 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-3.

(28) Benoit Paire vs. (Q) Jiri Vesely

Ricky: Vesely is basically a poor man’s Sam Querrey, in that he always seems to do his best work at Wimbledon–albeit to a much lesser extent than Querrey. The Czech has reached the second Monday twice in his career. And in case it has to be said, being a poor man’s Sam Querrey is not a good thing. Vesely is playing great so far in London, but consistency has never been his forte. This is Paire’s best slam, as well, and he is simply the more talented of these two players. If the Frenchman can keep his head on straight for for all or most of the time, he should advance. Paire in 5: 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.

Pete: Despite reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, Vesely actually needed to qualify for the main draw and dropped just one set in three matches to do so successfully. Since losing to Nadal here last year in the round of sixteen, Vesely entered Wimbledon with just five ATP wins in the last 52 weeks and has played eight Challengers with a semifinal as his best showing back in January. Paire is seeking to reach consecutive court round berths at a major after having only reached the round of sixteen just twice before in his career. Vesely has won 12 matches at Wimbledon and just eight at all other majors. This match means more to him and that will be the difference against Paire. Vesely in 4: 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3).

 

 

Wimbledon Day 2 expert picks, including Thiem vs. Querrey and Fognini vs. Tiafoe

This article originally appeared on The Grandstand.

 

A much more intriguing bottom half of the Wimbledon draw gets underway on Tuesday, when Dominic Thiem joins Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in action. Ricky Dimon of The Grandstand and Tennis Acumen's Pete Ziebron make their predictions for four of the best matchups.

(5) Dominic Thiem vs. Sam Querrey

Ricky:  Either Querrey will pull off an upset in a thriller or Thiem will absolutely cruise. No in between. I wouldn’t be completely shocked by the former, but I would be less surprised by the latter. It is true that Querrey is a borderline Wimbledon specialist who finally has some momentum with his runner-up performance in Eastbourne, while grass is Thiem’s worst surface. But the American got manhandled by Taylor Fritz on Saturday and he isn’t the same player he was in 2016 and 2017. There is also no doubt in my mind that Thiem can be among the world’s best on all surfaces. Thiem in 3: 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-3.

Pete: Since April, Thiem has wins over Nadal, Federer, and Novak Djokovic. Querrey has served well on grass this year, as he did not face a break point in back-to-back matches in Eastbourne and was not broken in three consecutive matches heading into the final. Concurrently, it is hard to believe that just two years ago the American marched to the Wimbledon semifinals a year after halting Djokovic’s run of four consecutive majors and 30-match winning streak at majors in 2016. Despite just a 5-5 career record at Wimbledon, Thiem will be able to solve Querrey’s serve just enough to advance. Thiem in 5: 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4.

Frances Tiafoe vs. (12) Fabio Fognini

Ricky: This is one of those matchups in which basically everyone in the world is going to predict the same outcome. In this case, Fognini in four sets. It’s not going to be a rout; Tiafoe is too talented and Fognini won’t stay focused the entire way. But there is also little chance of an upset. The Italian is even more talented, is far more experienced, and is in the midst of an outstanding year. Fognini won their only previous meeting 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 1-6, 6-0 at the 2017 French Open. I don’t think this one will be quite as wild. Fognini in 4: 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Pete: Fognini enters Wimbledon as a top 10 player but has managed to reach the third round at the All-England Club just three times in 10 appearances. Tiafoe played two events on grass leading into Wimbledon and was only able to win just one match. The overall experience of the Italian will be the difference in this one. Both players have third-round points to defend and Fognini also has a pair of July titles to defend. As a result, the urgency to win is more apparent for Fognini and he will prevail. Fognini in 4: 6-3, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

(13) Marin Cilic vs. Adrian Mannarino

Ricky: As if Cilic didn’t have it bad enough already, the draw ceremony pit him against probably the chief unseeded floater that nobody wanted to face in the first round. Not on grass, at least. The under-appreciated Frenchman is an absolute savant on on the green stuff but has never made tons of noise at Wimbledon due to bad draws. But he captured his first career title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch earlier this month. Cilic, on the other hand, is a dreadful 10-9 in 2019 and has plunged to 18th in the rankings. Sound the upset alert! Mannarino in 5: 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-5.

Pete: Following Cilic’s run to the Wimbledon final in 2017, his two most recent losses on grass have inexplicably come against Argentines and neither is named Juan Martin Del Potro (Guido Pella last summer at Wimbledon and Diego Schwartzman two weeks ago at Queen’s Club). Mannarino just won his first career title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and his last three losses at Wimbledon have been to Federer and to Djokovic twice. Cilic is aware of the fact that less serious threats would await in the next rounds should he take care of business in his opening match. The former finalist wills his way to victory. Cilic in 4: 7-6(5), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Bernard Tomic vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Ricky: Tomic is basically the right-handed version of Mannarino but with a much bigger serve and a much smaller brain. His game–when he is actually motivated–works extremely well on grass. However, the Aussie’s 2019 results were terrible (even on grass) until he reached the Antalya quarterfinals. But he didn’t beat anyone nearly as good as Tsonga. Even this downgraded version of Tsonga is still a steep step up in competition for Tomic. This will be competitive for a while before Tomic inevitably disappears. Tsonga in 3: 6-4, 7-6(11), 6-0.

Pete: World No. 70 Tsonga vs. world No. 101 Tomic. The rankings are low, yet this matchup holds plenty of intrigue for what may happen. Tsonga is 30-10 all time at Wimbledon and took a set from Federer in Halle a couple of weeks ago. Tomic hit 35 aces with just seven double-faults during a two-match stretch in Antalya last week and enjoys direct entry into the main draw after having to qualify at Wimbledon last year. The Frenchman will take full advantage each and every time the level of Tomic’s play begins to dip. Tsonga in 4: 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3.