By Tony Fairbairn at Wimbledon
- Novak Djokovic [2] v Jordan Thompson
- Iga Swiatek [1] v Sara Sorribes Tormo
- Andrey Rublev [7] v Aslan Karatsev
LONDON, ENGLAND – Novak Djokovic will continue the defence of his Wimbledon title on day three as he takes on Jordan Thompson with Iga Swiatek and Andrey Rublev also in action.
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Novak Djokovic [2] v Jordan Thompson H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Novak Djokovic [2] v Jordan Thompson | H2H: First Meeting |
| Wimbledon 2023 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £85,000 |
| Third on Centre Court (16:30 BST) | BBC Sport |
Novak Djokovic’s title defence started with a fairly straightforward straight sets victory over Pedro Cachin. The Serb was more troubled by the stoppage in play due to a slippery surface as he made it a 40th consecutive victory on Centre Court. Djokovic’s relentless determination to make more history continues to be evident as he looks to secure a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title and the Serb will know that the best is yet to come at Wimbledon.
The latest player to try and disrupt Djokovic’s bid for history is Australian Jordan Thompson who is a player who loves to be on grass. Thompson reached the final in s-Hertogenbosch and has beaten Andy Murray on grass before so knows how to play his best tennis on the biggest stages. After coming back from two sets down against Brandon Nakashima, Thompson will have nothing to lose as he looks to secure the biggest victory of his career so far.
Djokovic will look to maintain a high level of play on serve as he looks to create space on the court by targeting the Thompson backhand. Meanwhile the Australian will look to take care of business on his own serve as well as come into the net as much as possible to finish points off as quickly as possible. Thompson has the quality to test Djokovic’s grass court game but not enough consistency to dethrone the seven-time champion as the Serb’s march for history will continue into the third round.
Prediction: Djokovic in straight sets.
Iga Swiatek [1] v Sara Sorribes Tormo H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Iga Swiatek [1] v Sara Sorribes Tormo | H2H: First Meeting |
| Wimbledon 2023 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £85,000 |
| Second on Centre Court (15:00 BST) | BBC Sport |
Iga Swiatek was ruthless in her first match against Lin Zhu as she looks to repeat her Juniors success in the main draw at Wimbledon. Despite grass not being her strongest surface historically, the Pole is looking strong on the surface and playing with aggression. Now the world number one looks to continue her dominance against the rest of the tour as she is out to prove why she should be considered the favourite for the title.
Next for Swiatek is Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo who eased past Martina Trevisan in her opening round match. The Spaniard doesn’t have the best record at Wimbledon but is more than capable of grinding her opponents down and causing big upsets on the biggest of occasions. Sorribes Tormo’s tactical returning can be a tough nut to crack and thee 26 year-old will look to make her Wimbledon breakthrough by frustrating Swiatek by extending the rallies.
Swiatek’s serve and Sorribes Tormo’s return is going to be the key to the match and how much the Spaniard can extend the rallies from Swiatek’s aggressive serve. This will be a tougher afternoon for the Pole than most people expect but the world number should still prevail in two tight sets.
Prediction: Swiatek in straight sets.
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Andrey Rublev [7] v Aslan Karatsev H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Andrey Rublev [7] v Aslan Karatsev | H2H: Karatsev leads 1-0 |
| Wimbledon 2023 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £85,000 |
| Fifth on No. 3 Court (Not before 16:30 BST) | BBC Sport |
After a disappointing Roland Garros campaign, Andrey Rublev has bounced back well as he prepared for Wimbledon by reaching the Halle final, where he narrowly lost to Alexander Bublik. Now Rublev will look to use the momentum he has built to finally achieve a standout Grand Slam result as that hasn’t been the case throughout the seventh seed’s career so far.
In order to do that Rublev will have to overcome a potential upset against Aslan Karatsev. After spending so long outside the world’s top 100, Karatsev has rebuilt his confidence and ranking as he now finds himself inside the world’s top 50. Now Karatsev will look to rejuvenate the player that reached the Australian Open semi-finals a few years ago as he looks to cause another shock at another big tournament.
Rublev will look to dominate the tempo of the match on serve while being smart on return with his backhand. Meanwhile Karatsev will look to be aggressive and use depth to cause Rublev’s powerful game problems. Although Karatsev has the physicality and power to cause Rublev problems, Rublev’s consistency and quality should prove too much in what is expected to be a tight contest.
Prediction: Rublev in five sets.
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