The Wimbledon tennis championships begin the third round, with the tournament fully up in the air on the women’s side. Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova, the two top choices as favorites in the tournament, are gone. This is a massive opportunity for someone else to step up and fill in the void.
On Thursday, we saw a number of interesting results with Pliskova’s upset loss being the most shocking. Few people thought that she’d be going down this early – especially to Magdalena Rybarikova. On the plus side, we did see the likes of Garbine Muguruza advance. As did Timea Bacsinszky and Caroline Wizniacki. A lot of people will be looking at Woz as a player that could possibly finally capitalize on a grand slam but we all know that she gets frail in these big events. She’s been playing well overall, though, and doesn’t have a lot of big names in her way. One that she may have to encounter is Angelique Kerber, who managed to advance on Thursday. She had no problems with Kirsten Flipkens, beating her 7-5, 7-5.
Players on Friday will know they need to focus on the match in front of them instead of getting greedy and thinking they are in good shape. Fans can do that, but players cannot afford to think ahead. Here is a look at our tennis picks for Friday’s card at Wimbledon, focusing on the women’s side of things.
Johanna Konta vs. Maria Sakkari
Johanna Konta came very close to exiting Wimbledon in the second round on Wednesday, but she fought very hard to beat Donna Vekic, 10-8 in the third set. Konta played for over three hours, so there is a very real chance that she could lose this match if she is extended to a third set. However, Konta came through a period of difficulty in the Vekic match. She now has a lot more reason to think that she can solve problems and Wimbledon and not worry about the pressure she carries as a legitimate hope for the women’s title. She might get outclassed in a future match by an opponent who has the ability to go all the way, but Sakkari – still young and developing – is not that player. Konta won’t get taken to a third set. She will find a way to get this match done in straights and keep alive her campaign into the second week of Wimbledon.
Pick: Konta in straight sets
Peng Shuai vs. Simona Halep
Halep did not start well in her second-round match against Beatriz Haddad-Maia, falling behind 3-0 in the first set, but she scrambled back and won that set before moving through in straights. That could be considered a sign of weakness, but Halep lost the French Open final in a very painful way. She should not have been expected to easily stroll through her early Wimbledon matches. She had to expect a battle on her hands. She was likely to struggle at some point. The fact that she worked through her problems is a good sign. It doesn’t mean she is ready to win the title, but it does suggest that it will take a very good player to ultimately knock her out of Wimbledon. Shuai did make a U.S. Open semifinal three years ago, but she has not been able to maintain that level of form. She is ultimately not the kind of player who is likely to take Halep down. She has a chance, just not a good one.
Pick: Halep in three sets
Jelena Ostapenko vs. Camila Giorgi
Jelena Ostapenko will probably lose a set in this match. She has played eight straight three-set matches and has been loading up on three-setters over the past few months. Yet, while playing so many full-distance matches, Ostapenko almost always wins them. She is 7-1 in this streak of eight straight three-setters, which goes back to the French Open. She finds a way to overcome the difficulties she faces. Why not pick her to do it again? She is assembling the kind of pattern it is unwise to bet against.
Pick: Ostapenko in three sets
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