Wimbledon continues with second-round play on Wednesday and so do our tennis picks. It’s a day which will have a packed schedule due to a number of first-round matches being postponed due to rain. Once the first round finishes up, some intriguing second-round meetings will commence. Looking back to Tuesday, we didn’t get a single winner on the men’s side but don’t worry. All of those matches are still pending. John Isner and Marco Baghdatis weren’t even able to get on the court to get started, so they’ll aim for Wednesday. The same goes for Mikhail Youzhny and Horacio Zeballos. Our third pick of the day was Dominic Thiem over Florian Mayer, and while those guys did get started, they didn’t get far. Mayer is up 2-1 in the first set as the players are still on serve.
Looking at the card on Wednesday, will we get a notable upset, and will any players with momentum manage to keep things going smoothly? Here is a look at our daily Wimbledon tennis picks on the men’s side for Wednesday.
Milos Raonic vs. Andreas Seppi
There is no secret that Andreas Seppi is a solid grass-court player. The Italian moves fluidly and can flatten out his groundstrokes, which are both necessary tools for any aspiring grass-court player. He is hardly a pushover, and is likely to make Raonic work for everything he gets in this match. This does not feel like a routine match in which Seppi will never get his say.
Yet, Seppi’s opponent was built to be a grass-court force in men’s tennis. Raonic has the huge serve, the solid net game, the instincts on when to approach and when to stay on the baseline. He has improved his movement this year. He has developed his backhand. He has made several forward strides strictly in terms of his physical capabilities on court. The only problem for Raonic has been his health. His body seems to give up on him at exactly the wrong time. If Raonic can simply avoid bad injury luck, many people think he can become one of the four best players in the world and win Grand Slam events. That point might not be germane here, but Raonic should certainly have enough in his arsenal to keep Seppi at bay. He might need an extra set to win this match, but he should indeed win it. Take Raonic with your tennis picks.
Pick: Raonic in four sets
Marin Cilic vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky
This could be the match of the day in terms of closeness. Cilic played a five-setter early in Wimbledon last year, escaping Ricardas Berankis. He could play a five-setter in this match against Stakhovsky, whose greatest moment as a player was against Roger Federer in 2013. The place? Wimbledon. Stakhovsky played virtually perfect tennis against Federer and won in four sets for the victory of his life. His serve-and-volley style is made for grass, and it could rob Cilic of time on his groundstrokes. Cilic is trying to generate momentum for his season. Because he didn’t play a lot in the French Open or other clay tournaments, he’ll be physically fresh. However, he lacks rhythm as well. This feels like an uncertain match, but Cilic is likely to find a way to win in the end. Take him with your tennis picks in this spot.
Pick: Cilic in five sets
Jeremy Chardy vs. Steve Johnson
This is a matchup in which the reality of playing a full week of tennis just before a Grand Slam event will be tested. Steve Johnson won the title in Nottingham, meaning that he had to play through Saturday and then pack his bags for the All-England Club. The man Johnson beat in the Nottingham final, Pablo Cuevas, is out of the tournament. The feeling here is that Johnson will be tired, and that Chardy will take over this match in sets three and four. He’s our choice for our tennis picks.
Pick: Chardy in four sets
