Third round singles action begins on Friday, which is the first day seeded players clash in the draw. Novak Djokovic, Angelique Kerber, and Carlos Alcaraz will all face seeded opposition on Friday. And in perhaps the day’s most marquee matchup, Italy’s Jannik Sinner takes on John Isner, who eliminated Andy Murray on Wednesday.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s five most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Friday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Ons Jabeur (3) vs. Diane Parry – 1:30pm on Centre Court
Jabeur is now on a seven-match win streak, dating back to her title run two weeks ago in Berlin. She has earned two comprehensive victories this week, dropping just four games in each of her first two rounds. Parry is a 19-year-old who also nabbed her first two matches in straight sets. And just a few weeks ago, Diane also reached the third round of her home Slam in Paris, where she upset Barbora Krejcikova in the defending champion’s return from an injury layoff. There is plenty of promise in Parry’s game, but upsetting the new world No.2, whose style of play is a great fit for grass courts, would be a shocking result.
Angelique Kerber (15) vs. Elise Mertens (24) – Second on No.1 Court
Kerber got off to a terrible start this season, with a record of 2-8. Surprisingly, Angie found her form on her worst surface, with a clay title run in Strasbourg. Since last year, the 2018 champion is 15-3 on grass, and has not lost a set this week. Mertens is now into her 18th consecutive third round at a Major, though just barely. She needed to save two match points in the second set on Wednesday, before coming back to play an extended third set on Thursday, to eventually prevail 7-5 in the third. Elise claimed their only previous encounter in three sets, which occurred three years ago in Doha. But on grass, Kerber should be considered the favorite. Angie thrives off the low bounces these lawns provide.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Miomir Kecmanovic (25) – Second on Centre Court
After Djokovic was prevented from playing the Australian Open in January, it’s Kecmanovic who benefited from taking the top seed’s place in the draw. Miomir took full advantage, reaching the second week of a Major for the first time. And he has continued that momentum throughout the year, accumulating 27 match wins through six months. But he will likely be outmatched by his fellow Serbian on Friday. Djokovic is on a 23-match win streak at Wimbledon, and after some subpar form in his opening round, he comfortably dispatched of Thanasi Kokkinakis on Wednesday. Novak has claimed both his previous encounters with Kecmanovic, making him a clear favorite to reach the round of 16 at The Championships for the 14th time.
Jannik Sinner (10) vs. John Isner (20) – Third on No.2 Court
Isner demoralized the British audience on Wednesday by earning his first victory over two-time champion Andy Murray in nine tries. John’s serving was extra impressive in that match, striking 36 aces across four sets. But the rest of his game was highly effective as well, with 82 winners and only 32 unforced errors. And as Ben Rothenberg highlighted on Twitter, he broke Murray twice after only breaking him once across their previous eight matches. Meanwhile, Sinner came into this event 0-4 in main draw matches on grass, yet gained two four-set wins this week over Stan Wawrinka and Mikael Ymer. Jannik and John’s head-to-head is tied at 1-1, with Isner prevailing last year in Cincinnati, and Sinner prevailing later in the year in Davis Cup. As monstrous as Isner’s serve can be, maintaining his high level from Wednesday in all aspects of his game will be challenging. I give the slight edge to the more well-rounded game of Sinner, whose penetrating groundstrokes should earn him a few breaks of serve.
Carlos Alcaraz (5) vs. Oscar Otte (32) – Third on No.1 Court
Despite only playing two grass court matches in his career prior to this fortnight, Alcaraz appears pretty comfortable on this surface. After surviving a tight five-setter in the first round against Jan-Lennard Struff, Carlitos prevailed in straights in the last round. But his opposition on Friday is quite a formidable grass court player. Otte is a 28-year-old who, as a qualifier, pushed Andy Murray to five sets at this event one year ago. And Oscar is now 7-2 on grass this season, coming off back-to-back semifinals in Stuttgart and Halle. He also reached the second week of last summer’s US Open, and is now ranked inside the top 40. Yet based on what we’ve seen Alcaraz achieve this season, building a record of 34-4 with four titles, the 19-year-old’s mix of power, speed, and finesse should be enough to overcame the veteran from Germany.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Frances Tiafoe (23) vs. Alexander Bublik – These are two of the sport’s most entertaining players to watch. And both are in strong form, each winning all six sets they’ve contested this week. They played just last week in Eastbourne, with Bublik victorious in three sets.
Jelena Ostapenko (12) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu – Ostapenko has twice reached the quarters or better at this event, and was the runner-up a week ago in Eastbourne. Begu is a 32-year-old who reached the second week of Roland Garros a few weeks ago. And Begu took their only prior matchup, four years ago in Madrid on clay.
Maria Sakkari (5) vs. Tatjana Maria – Sakkari has easily advanced to this stage, and is vying for her fourth appearance in the round of 16 out of the last six Slams. Tatjana is a 34-year-old who upset Sorana Cirstea in the last round. In the first round of this year’s Australian Open, Sakkari defeated Maria in straights.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.