The third slam of the season is in full swing as the third round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships wraps up on Day 6. The All England Club draw has given us some scintillating Round 3 matchups, including No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic vs Alexei Popyrin. As always, we at LWOT have our roundtable predictions for all the Wimbledon action. Damian, Jordan, Ateet and Yesh offer their insights.
Wimbledon Men’s Day 6 Predictions
Arthur Fils vs Roman Safiullin
Damian
Fils got through after Hurkacz got injured, but let’s remember he played a phenomenal first two sets there and was still alive in the fourth set tie-break when that issue popped up. Safiullin made the quarterfinals last year and is firing at Wimbledon again, he also has that type of game to rush the Fils groundstrokes on grass. But something tells me this is the event that the Frenchman was looking for this year.
Prediction: Fils in 5
Jordan
This promises to be a fun match between two very aggressive players. Fils does have slightly more explosiveness at his best. Inconsistency is sometimes his issue, but I am backing the Frenchman to find his range enough times to make the fourth-round.
Prediction: Fils in 4
Ateet
This is already the best Grand Slam run for Arthur Fils and he has a golden opportunity to extend this further. He played a brilliant match against one of the outside favourites for the title, Hubert Hurkacz. Roman Safiullin hasn’t been in great form this year but has played well this week. He made the semifinals of Wimbledon last year so it’s safe to say he likes playing on grass. This match will be close if Safiullin can bring his best level but Fils’ has the bigger game and serve which will be the difference.
Prediction: Fils in 5
Yesh
Hubert Hurkacz might not have been 100%, but Arthur Fils was playing so well to have him beat anyway. I, for one, can’t wait to see how far the Frenchman can go.
Prediction: Fils in 3
Lucas Pouille vs Alex de Minaur
Damian
Pouille has been awesome since the qualifying and while he had to fight his way through the last two matches, he’s showing that he can still be a decent main tour player even after all these injuries seriously depleting him physically. But de Minaur has joined the elites now. The Australian is so tough to beat and requires a truly perfect standard from his opposition. A standard that Pouille is unlikely to deliver for at least three sets.
Prediction: de Minaur in 4
Jordan
Pouille, after struggling a lot in recent years, has surprised many with his run at SW19. However, he is very unlikely to topple de Minaur. The Australian’s consistency and intensity should be too much for Pouille, especially since the Frenchman is not as physically strong as he used to be.
Prediction: de Minaur in 3
Ateet
Alex De Minaur convincingly overcame Jaume Munar in the second round and appears poised for a deep run. Although injuries have hindered Lucas Pouille’s career, he still performs well when he can play. This will be tougher for de Minaur than it looks on paper but he is too good to not win this.
Prediction: de Minaur in 4
Yesh
Alex de Minaur is putting things all together. This run might be a nice swan song for Pouille, but it’s hard to think the Aussie won’t take this.
Prediction: de Minaur in 3
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Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Damian
Funnily enough Mpetshi Perricard might be disappointed that Ruusuvuori pulled off the Tsitsipas upset as he would have had some much fun smashing serves at the Greek’s one-handed backhand return. The Finn is also an opponent he could beat though and while Ruusuvuori should have some extra confidence now after his previous round, let’s remember we hadn’t really seen the best of his game in a while before last match.
Prediction: Mpetshi Perricard in 5
Jordan
This will come down to very fine margins. Overall, Ruusuvuori is narrowly favoured. I think he is slightly more likely to create chances against Mpetshi Perricard’s huge serve than the Frenchman is to get opportunities in Ruusuvuori’s service games.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in 4
Ateet
Perricard destroyed his second-round opponent, Yoshihito Nishioka in just 71 minutes to set up this clash with Emil Ruusuvuori. The Frenchman has been hitting aces left, right and centre and is athletic to go with that. Emil Ruusuvuori defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas with a fantastic performance. He has always been capable of producing such levels but consistency has been his problem. He hits massive balls from both wings but can he break the serve of Perricard? I think he can and will be more clinical in tiebreaks.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in 5
Yesh
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is continuing his breakthrough season, taking the Tour and Majors by storm. He’s going to get another round here, too. The question might be becoming wondering who will stop him.
Prediction: Mpetshi Perricard in 3
Novak Djokovic vs Alexei Popyrin
Damian
Djokovic doesn’t look like a player who will win the event and Popyrin was close to taking him to five sets at the Australian Open this year. It’s tough to compare these versions of the Serbian though, back then he was struggling with a viral illness and now might be a bit tentative covering his backhand corner after the injury. Popyrin has some firepower, but it might all be a bit too predictable to beat Djokovic.
Prediction: Djokovic in 4
Jordan
This matchup is not complicated. Popyrin’s big serve needs to be firing on all cylinders to have a chance of toppling the seven-time champion. But I always trust Djokovic to create the chances he needs against big servers.
Prediction: Djokovic in 3
Ateet
Popyrin played a good match when these two met at the Australian Open this year and it won’t be easy this time too for Djokovic, who wasn’t at his best in his last match and is working his way up with every match. Popyrin has a big serve and forehand but his backhand can be vulnerable and Djokovic will target that. I expect Popyrin to take a set but also Djokovic will improve from his last match.
Prediction: Djokovic in 4
Yesh
Alexei Popyrin is rounding into form (again), while Djokovic isn’t at his best. Does that mean there’s upset potential here? I’m saying nope, but it’s fun to think about.
Prediction: Djokovic in 4
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane – USA TODAY Sports