By Tony Fairbairn at Wimbledon
- Elena Rybakina [3] v Alize Cornet
- Daniil Medvedev [3] v Adrian Mannarino
- Caroline Garcia [5] v Leylah Fernandez
LONDON, ENGLAND – Elena Rybakina continues the defence of her Wimbledon title against Alize Cornet on day four of the third Grand Slam of the season.
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Elena Rybakina [3] v Alize Cornet H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Elena Rybakina [3] v Alize Cornet | H2H: First Meeting |
| Wimbledon 2023 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £85,000 |
| Second on Centre Court (16:00 BST) | BBC Sport |
Defending women’s champion Elena Rybakina overcame Centre Court nerves and Shelby Rogers to reach the second round at Wimbledon. The Kazakh is defending a Grand Slam title for the first time in her career and after recovering from a viral illness is looking to continue her consistency at big events. Although her performance wasn’t perfect, there were elements to suggest that Rybakina will be a big threat at SW19 once again as she looks to win a second Grand Slam title.
Rybakina will now face the tricky Alize Cornet who has previous form in defeating big players at Wimbledon. Last year the Frenchwoman was the one to stop Iga Swiatek’s winning streak at Wimbledon and Cornet’s tenacity as well as variety has proven effective on grass. Now Cornet will look to upset another top seed at SW19 and prove she is the ultimate giant-killer at Wimbledon.
Rybakina will look to dominate on serve and create lots of unforced errors from Cornet with the use of her forehand. Meanwhile Cornet will look to be aggressive and use the slice to force Rybakina out of position. This will be an interesting match and one that should go all the way with the defending champion edging to victory.
Prediction: Rybakina in three sets.
Daniil Medvedev [3] v Adrian Mannarino H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Daniil Medvedev [3] v Adrian Mannarino | H2H: Mannarino leads 4-2 |
| Wimbledon 2023 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £85,000 |
| Fourth on No. 2 Court (16:30 BST) | BBC Sport |
Daniil Medvedev overcame a good performance from Britain’s Arthur Fery to reach the second round as he looks to become more familiar with grass. The former US Open champion’s worst performances have come at Wimbledon and the third seed will be encouraged that he is playing better now than in previous years. Now Medvedev will look to take advantage of his current confidence as he aims for a second week result at SW19.
A very tough challenge awaits Medvedev in the second round in the form of Adrian Mannarino. The Frenchman has already beaten Medvedev this grass court season in s-Hertogenbosch and has previous history in beating top players on this surface. Mannarino’s slice mixed with effortless baseline play has riddled so many opponents into unforced errors and now the Frenchman will look to repeat history and cause another upset at Wimbledon.
Medvedev will look to use the geometry of the court to his advantage as he looks to create space on the court and tire the Frenchman out. Meanwhile, Mannarino will look to serve well and use the slice to rush Medvedev into hitting risky shots from the baseline. This will be a highly competitive affair and in the end Mannarino should have too much grass court experience to cause the upset.
Prediction: Mannarino in five sets.
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Caroline Garcia [5] v Leylah Fernandez H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Caroline Garcia [5] v Leylah Fernandez | H2H: Garcia leads 2-0 |
| Wimbledon 2023 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £85,000 |
| Third on No. 3 Court (15:00 BST) | BBC Sport |
Caroline Garcia would have loved to be in more confident form right now but then again, Garcia’s whole career has been based off peaking when many write her off. Once again the world number five is under the radar at Wimbledon having had an underwhelming build-up to the tournament and that will suit Garcia, who has the game to beat any player on grass. Now Garcia will look to elevate her game in the latter stages of the tournament as she looks to prove why she could be the dark horse of the tournament.
A big match awaits in the second round to test Garcia’s title credentials and that is against former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez. The Canadian has had a spell on the sidelines with an ankle injury but is now rebuilding confidence having reached the women’s doubles final at Roland Garros. Despite Fernandez feeling comfortable in doubles, the Canadian is yet to find her range on the singles court with no back-to-back wins on the main tour since Doha qualifying. Now Fernandez will look to score a huge victory at Wimbledon as she looks for a big result heading into the second half of the season.
Garcia will look to be accurate on serve, creating effective patterns of play and using her forehand to finish points off quickly. Meanwhile Fernandez will look to neutralize Garcia’s power by using depth and variety to force unforced errors from the fifth seed. This will be a tough test for Garcia but one she should prevail in given Fernandez’s lack of form in singles at the moment.
Prediction: Garcia in three sets.
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