Following the rain on Wednesday, Wimbledon organisers will be hoping that mother nature will be more generous today as they aim to complete 60 singles matches.
The men’s action will be led by world No.2 Andy Murray, who plays Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu in the second match on Centre Court. The encounter will be a case of deja vu for both men, who also clashed in the second round of the 2013 Wimbledon championships. Murray currently leads the head-to-head 3-1 against Lu and hasn’t lost to him since the 2008 Olympic Games. Furthermore, the two-time grand slam champion has defeated Lu twice in straight sets on the grass. All the statistics are certainly pointing to a straightforward Murray triumph.
Before Murray takes to the court, Kei Nishikori will kick-off the action on Centre Court against French veteran Julien Benneteau. The 34-year-old Frenchman is playing in his 12 consecutive Wimbledon tournament and reached the fourth round in 2010. Seeded fifth at SW19, Nishikori hasn’t suffered a loss to Benneteau since he was 17-year-old at the 2007 Washington Open and he is likely to continue this record against a player who has been troubled by injury in recent months.
Following the men on the premier court will be 16th seed Johanna Konta against 2014 runner-up Eugenie Bouchard. Both Women were forced to finish their first round matches yesterday due to the rain. Konta’s win over Eastbourne semifinalist Monica Puig rewarded the Brit with her first ever win in the tournament. On the other hand, Bouchard’s triumph over Rybarikova was her ninth. If the sometimes inconsistent Bouchard is able to produce the tennis that many knows she is capable off, expect a thrilling encounter.
Court 1 will see the resumption of Grigor Dimitrov’s match against Gilles Simon. The two men have been only able to play one game so far due to the weather. Simon has won both of their previous matches on the grass, however, their last meeting on the surface was almost four years ago. Second on the court will be French Open champion Garbine Muguruza against Slovakia’s Jana Cepelova. The Spanish player will be hoping for a smoother encounter following her tough three-set opening win against Camila Giorgi. Finally, rising-star Dominic Thiem will take on Novak Djokovic’s Monte-Carlo conqueror Jiri Vesely. It will be the first meeting on the tour between the two since 2014, with the Austrian eighth seed narrowly leading the head-to-head 2-1.
Outside of the two principal courts, Simona Halep will play Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone. Agnieszka Radwanska could encounter some tough resistance against the injury-prone Ana Konjuh, who recently withdrew from the Nottingham Open due to a back injury. Former champion Venus Williams will play Greek talent Maria Sakkari on court 18, a scheduling decision that baffled many. Finally, Milos Raonic will be hoping to continue his winning form against Italy’s Andreas Seppi.
Full order of play
CENTRE COURT (play begins at 1pm)
Julien Benneteau (FRA) v Kei Nishikori (JPN) [5]
Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) v Andy Murray (GBR) [2]
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) v Johanna Konta (GBR) [16]
NO.1 COURT (play begins at 1pm)
Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) v Gilles Simon (FRA) [16]
Jana Cepelova (SVK) v Garbine Muguruza (ESP) [2]
Dominic Thiem (AUT) [8] v Jiri Vesely (CZE)
NO.2 COURT (play begins at 11am)
Daniel Evans (GBR) v Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) [30] – TO FINISH 6-6
Simona Halep (ROU) [5] v Francesca Schiavone (ITA)
Radu Albot (MDA) v Bernard Tomic (AUS) [19]
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [3] v Ana Konjuh (CRO)
NO.3 COURT (play begins at 11am)
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) [11] v Luksika Kumkhum (THA)
Andreas Seppi (ITA) v Milos Raonic (CAN) [6]
Julia Boserup (USA) v Belinda Bencic (SUI) [7]
COURT 12 (play begins at 11am)
Annika Beck (GER) v Heather Watson (GBR) – TO FINISH 3-6 6-0 1-0
Marin Cilic (CRO) [9] v Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)
Richard Gasquet (FRA) [7] v Marcel Granollers (ESP)
Coco Vandeweghe (USA) [27] v Timea Babos (HUN)
COURT 18 (play begins at 11am)
Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) v Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) [31]
Venus Williams (USA) [8] v Maria Sakkari (GRE)
Varvara Lepchenko (USA) v Angelique Kerber (GER) [4]
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) [19] v Daria Gavrilova (AUS)
COURT 4 (play begins at 11am)
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) v Horacio Zeballos (ARG) – TO FINISH 6-4 5-4
Sara Errani (ITA) [20] v Alize Cornet (FRA)
COURT 5 (play begins at 11am)
Sloane Stephens (USA) [18] v Shuai Peng (CHN) – TO FINISH 6-6
Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) v Damir Dzumhur (BIH)
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) v Elina Svitolina (UKR) [17]
Andrea Petkovic (GER) [32] v Elena Vesnina (RUS)
COURT 6 (play begins at 11am)
Donald Young (USA) v Leonardo Mayer (ARG)
Mona Barthel (GER) v Kiki Bertens (NED) [26]
Lara Arruabarrena (ESP) v Daria Kasatkina (RUS) [29]
COURT 7 (play begins at 11am)
Sam Querrey (USA) [28] v Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) – TO FINISH 6-4 5-2
Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) v Madison Keys (USA) [9]
Denisa Allertova (CZE) v Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) [12]
Dennis Novikov (USA) v Joao Sousa (POR) [31]
COURT 8 (play begins at 11am)
John Isner (USA) [18] v Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) – TO FINISH 7-6(2) 1-3
David Goffin (BEL) [11] v Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
Katerina Siniakova (CZE) v Caroline Garcia (FRA) [30]
COURT 9 (play begins at 11am)
Mandy Minella (LUX) v Anna Tatishvili (USA) – TO FINISH 3-1
Lukas Lacko (SVK) v Ivo Karlovic (CRO) [23]
Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) [14] v Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)
COURT 10 (play begins at 11am)
Albano Olivetti (FRA) v Matthew Barton (AUS) – TO FINISH 7-6(7) 6-7(5) 3-6 7-6(5) 3-3
Jack Sock (USA) [27] v Robin Haase (NED)
Lucie Safarova (CZE) [28] v Samantha Crawford (USA)
COURT 11 (play begins at 11am)
Fabio Fognini (ITA) v Federico Delbonis (ARG) – To FINISH 6-4 1-6 4-1
Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [15] v Misaki Doi (JPN)
Carina Witthoeft (GER) v Kurumi Nara (JPN)
Ying-Ying Duan (CHN) v Roberta Vinci (ITA) [6]
COURT 14 (play begins at 11am)
Anett Kontaveit (EST) v Barbora Strycova (CZE) [24] – TO FINISH 3-2
Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) v Gilles Muller (LUX)
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) [22] v Marina Erakovic (NZL)
COURT 15 (play begins at 11am)
Monica Niculescu (ROU) v Aleksandra Krunic (SRB)
Nicolas Almagro (ESP) v Denis Istomin (UZB)
COURT 16 (play begins at 11am)
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) v Johanna Larsson (SWE)
Nicolas Mahut (FRA) v David Ferrer (ESP) [13] – TO FINISH 3-1
Benoit Paire (FRA) [26] v John Millman (AUS)
COURT 17 (play begins at 11am)
Lucas Pouille (FRA) [32] v Marius Copil (ROU) – TO FINISH 6-4 4-6 1-0
Samantha Stosur (AUS) [14] v Sabine Lisicki (GER)
Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) v Viktor Troicki (SRB) [25]
COURT 19 (play begins at 11am)
Anna-Lena Friedsam (GER) v Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS)
Steve Johnson (USA) v Jeremy Chardy (FRA) – TO FINISH 1-0
