The third slam of the season is upon us as the second round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships begins on Day 3. The All England Club draw has given us some scintillating Round 2 matchups, including an all-Italian encounter between No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini. As always, we at LWOT have our roundtable predictions for all the Wimbledon action. Ateet Shrivastava, Damian Kust, and Shane Black offer their insights.
Wimbledon Men’s Day 3 Predictions
Frances Tiafoe vs Borna Coric
Ateet
It’s the first time Frances Tiafoe has come back from 2 sets down to win a match, so a huge win for him. He needed this kind of win to turn around his mediocre season. Tiafoe was impressive behind his first serve and was moving well. Borna Coric played a solid match in his first match of the year on grass. He needed this win to get his confidence back. These two played earlier in the year at the Australian Open, where Tiafoe won in four sets and I expect a similar outcome.
Prediction: Tiafoe in 4
Damian
It was an important win for Tiafoe as he came back from 0-2 down against Arnaldi, not giving the Italian a chance in the last three sets. The reward is a matchup with Coric, who’s recently completely off his game. It seems like the American is the one with higher potential to keep going here and he should keep the good momentum from the last sets vs Arnaldi going.
Prediction: Tiafoe in 4
Shane
Frances Tiafoe looked down and out in the first round before recovering from his first two sets to love comeback of his career. That should give him confidence as he looks to progress through the Wimbledon draw. Coric, who has never favored the grass, cruised in his first-round encounter. I will back the American here given his variety and ability to end points in many ways.
Prediction: Tiafoe in 4
Lorenzo Sonego vs Roberto Bautista Agut
Ateet
Both these players had easy first-round opponents and they did well to dispatch them in straight sets. Sonego has looked good in his recent matches on grass and has a good draw to take advantage of if he can play at his best. Roberto Bautista Agut has been a very good grasscourt player over the years but isn’t at his best anymore.
Prediction: Sonego in 4
Damian
Bautista Agut has so much grass pedigree, but time is catching up with him and this season is simply mediocre from the veteran. Seems like that should give a pretty decent chance to Sonego, who’s definitely a capable grass-courter himself. The Spaniard is still the smarter and more composed player, but that might not be the most important part of this matchup anymore.
Prediction: Sonego in 4
Shane
Sonego and Bautista Agut cruised in their respective Round 1 matches. Both men are dangerous on the grass which should set up a compelling battle. Bautista Agut struggled this year until the season flipped to grass. I like his current comfortability and consistency in big points.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in 4
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Tommy Paul vs Otto Virtanen
Ateet
Tommy Paul won his first-round match comfortably despite losing a set. He has been in great form lately and wants to make a deep run here. Otto Virtanen completely destroyed Max Purcell, who made the Eastbourne final last week. Virtanen plays attacking tennis and goes for his shots. This win will give him a lot of confidence but Paul will be prepared.
Prediction: Paul in 4
Damian
Virtanen is such a confusing player and after saving eight match points in the qualifying in constant rollercoaster battles, he delivered a very focused performance to beat Purcell in the opening round. Paul will demand that sort of excellence again and while the Finn might have the talent to take this clash, he would need to avoid any hiccups which he usually finds very hard. Any ups and downs will be swiftly punished here.
Prediction: Paul in 5
Shane
Tommy Paul has really come into his own over the past two seasons. Virtanen looked solid in his straight-set victory over Purcell, but Paul’s consistency is tough for lower-ranked players to break through.
Prediction: Paul in 3
Jannik Sinner vs Matteo Berrettini
Ateet
This will probably be one of the best matches of the first week. Both players struggled a bit in the third set in their first match, before winning the fourth set convincingly. The key aspect in this match would be the serve and return. Berrettini has the better serve and Sinner has the better return. The best chance for Berrettini would be to take the sets in tiebreaks while Sinner will back himself to break. Sinner is more clutch and should win this.
Prediction: Sinner in 4
Damian
This is the big one. Sinner struggled a bit against Hanfmann, but you’d expect him to play himself into form as the event goes on. But will he even get a chance to do that? Berrettini is so strong on the grass and probably one of the ten best players in the event. The 2021 runner-up had some back issues in round one though and with his fitness being fragile in general, I’m not sure I can quite back him (no pun intended) to take this.
Prediction: Sinner in 5
Shane
What a blockbuster this should be. We know what Sinner brings to the table, and for Berrettini, he looked in form during his Round 1 win. This is a nightmare second-round draw for the No. 1 seed. That said, I believe Sinner can hold serve comfortably and take advantage of the few opportunities Berrettini affords him.
Prediction: Sinner in 4
Main Photo Credit: Peter van den Berg – USA TODAY Sports