That Centre Court affair between Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka should be a quite a battle, though it’s only one of many appetizing matches on Day 5. With a ticket to the second week on the line for all the singles players, Friday should provide us with a plethora of great storylines. However, some of the most anticipated matches are in the mixed doubles event, which gets underway today and features superstars such as Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Andy Murray.
Simona Halep (7) vs. Victoria Azarenka
This is a rematch from two years ago at Wimbledon, when Halep prevailed in straight sets on Manic Monday. Two years prior to that, they played an extremely competitive and compelling quarterfinal at the US Open, which went to Halep 6-4 in the third. Their overall head-to-head is tired at 2-2, with Azarenka taking their other two meetings back in 2012 before Halep was the player she is today. Azarenka continues to receive tough draws like this during the first week of Majors, as she struggles to get her ranking high enough to be seeded. While the fire is still there in the two-time Australian Open champion, it’s now been nearly six years since she’s reached a Grand Slam final. Halep of course finally won her first Major last year at Roland Garros, but has struggled in the past year since suffering a back injury in late-2018, and since splitting with Darren Cahill. Both women have achieved similar results at Wimbledon, both reaching the semifinals on their worst surface. Halep’s movement could be the deciding factor here, but Azarenka has a good shot if she can keep the ball deep in the court and limit her unforced errors. It feels as if Vika is long overdue for a signature win, so I’m giving her the slight edge to fight her way through what should be a great contest.
Karolina Pliskova (3) vs. Su-Wei Hsieh (28)
Pliskova has been the WTA’s second best player through the first six months of 2019. She already has 37 match wins, three titles, and a seven match winning streak on the grass. She now owns three career titles on grass, though that success is yet to translate to The All England Club. Her round of 16 appearance last year was her first time advancing beyond the second round, on a surface that would seemingly be well-suited for her game. Despite that, she’s a favorite to go deep into the second week on the less crowded half of the draw. But this will be a stern test, as Hsieh often drives her opponents crazy with her unorthodox style of play. That was fully evident in her defeat of Jelena Ostapenko on Monday, as last year’s semifinalist spent much of their match whining in frustration. Both of Pliskova and Hsieh’s prior matches have been extended affairs. Pliskova won in Miami last year 7-6 in the third, while Hsieh prevailed earlier this year in Dubai 7-5 in the third. This will likely be another complicated contest, but with all the confidence Karolina has been playing with, and with the wisdom of Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, she should advance here.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Hubert Hurkacz
These two just played five weeks in the first round of Roland Garros, with Djokovic easily advancing in straight sets. The 22-year-old from Poland was ranked outside the top 100 a year ago, but is now inside the top 50, with his most notable result coming at Indian Wells in March when he reached the quarterfinals. Many have compared his playing style to that of Andy Murray. While I expect we’ll see him continue to rise in the rankings, he’ll likely be outmatched today by the defending champion. But he should account for himself better on grass than he did on the clay of Paris.
Karen Khachanov (10) vs. Roberto Bautista Agut (23)
Khachanov was truly impressive on Wednesday in his four-set victory over an in-form Feliciano Lopez. Today he’ll face another Spaniard, who is almost always a tough out on any surface. Bautista Agut made a thrilling run to the quarterfinals in Melbourne earlier this year, highlighted by five set wins over Andy Murray, John Millman, and Marin Cilic. It also included a straight set victory over Khachanov. Overall Roberto is 3-2 against Karen. Khachanov’s wins have come on clay, while Bautista Agut has triumphed on both hard courts and grass. The 23-year-old Russian is playing much better tennis than six months ago, having recovered from the hangover of his breakout win at the Paris Masters last fall. Just like the 31-year-old from Spain, Khachanov reached his first Major quarterfinal this season, last month at Roland Garros. I like his chances to hit his way past the veteran, though I expect this to be an extended and back-and-forth encounter.
Daniil Medvedev (11) vs. David Goffin (21)
This should be another good one. Their only previous meeting was in January at the Australian Open, which Medvedev claimed in straight sets. But Goffin has been showing signs of regaining his confidence of late. In no small feat, he took a set of Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros. He then advanced to the final on the grass of Halle, losing to Roger Federer in the final. David will now look at reach the second week of Wimbledon for the third time, as Daniil vies to make his round of 16 debut here. Despite his success outside the Majors, Medvedev is yet to establish himself at the Slams, with his fourth round appearance in Melbourne being his best result to date. The grass courts should favor the powerful and flat groundstrokes of the 23-year-old Russian, but we’ve seen Goffin diffuse such hitting many times in the past. I have a hunch David will find a way to do so again here and pull out an extremely tight victory.
Other notable matches on Day 5:
If you like big serving, this one’s for you: 2016 finalist Milos Raonic (15) vs. Reilly Opelka, who upset Stan Wawrinka in five sets on Wednesday.
15-year-old phenom Coco Gauff (Q) will make her Centre Court debut vs. Polona Hercog, who took out Madison Keys in the last round.
Another teenage phenom, Felix Auger-Aliassime (19), vs. 21-year-old Frenchman Ugo Humbert.
In mixed doubles, the team of Andy Murray and Serena Williams make their debut vs. Andreas Mies and Alexa Guarachi.
Also in mixed doubles, the American team of Frances Tiafoe and Venus Williams vs. the British team of Scott Clayton and Sarah Beth Grey.
