Saturday’s Order of Play boats many high-profile matchups. No.4 seed Paula Badosa faces two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. Roland Garros finalist Coco Gauff takes on a former RG semifinalist Amanda Anisimova. And another RG finalist, Stefanos Tsitsipas, will do battle with Nick Kyrgios.
And that’s not even to mention Rafael Nadal going for his 17th consecutive match win at a Major this season, or Iga Swiatek playing for her 38th consecutive win overall.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s five most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Saturday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Coco Gauff (11) vs. Amanda Anisimova (20) – 1:30pm on Centre Court
This is a rematch from the 2017 US Open girls singles final, when Anisimova defeated Gauff 6-0, 6-2. At the time, Amanda was 16-years-old while Coco was just 13. Gauff avenged that loss last year in their only professional encounter, when she prevailed 6-3, 6-3 on clay in Parma. That tournament was Coco’s last title run, with last month’s Roland Garros being her first final since. Coco is 11-2 since the start of the French Open, which is the same as her current record at Wimbledon (including qualifying rounds). She is yet to fail in advancing to the fourth round here, though she’s yet to advance farther. By contrast, Anisimova is only 3-2 lifetime at The Championships, with this being her first appearance in the third round. Gauff struggled significantly in her first round, but recovered strongly on Thursday, dropping only five games. At this event, where Coco made her memorable run to the fourth round as a 15-year-old, Gauff is the favorite to prevail.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Alize Cornet – Second on No.1 Court
Swiatek has not lost a match since February 16th of this year. During that time, she has collected six titles, including her second French Open crown. But Cornet knows all about upsetting top players at Wimbledon. In 2014, she overcame Serena Williams in this same round. And a year ago, she dismissed Bianca Andreescu. Alize is coming off a semifinal appearance last week in Bad Homburg, and earlier this year achieved her first Major quarterfinal. She has a grass court game that can draw errors off the racket of Swiatek, who played a subpar match on Thursday. In their first career meeting, Iga remains the favorite, but an Alize upset would not be shocking. Swiatek’s remarkable win streak will likely come to an end sooner than later, and grass has been her worst surface to date in her young career.
Paula Badosa (4) vs. Petra Kvitova (25) – Second on Centre Court
Two-time champion Kvitova is on a seven-match win streak of her own, after winning her first title in over a year just last week on grass in Eastbourne. Badosa is a solid 26-12 on the year, but she hasn’t claimed a title since the beginning of the season in Sydney. And she arrived at this event just 5-7 on grass in her career. Yet Paula has easily advanced to this stage, dropping only eight games across her first two matches. Their only prior matchup also occurred at a Major, when Kvitova prevailed 7-5, 7-5 two years ago at the Australian Open. It’s been a long time since Petra has made a deep run at The Championships. She reached the quarterfinals or better every year between 2010 and 2014, but has not done so since. And before the grass court season, she was only 10-13 in 2022. Yet on grass, a rejuvenated Kvitova should be favored.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) vs. Nick Kyrgios – Third on No.1 Court
These two men just played a couple weeks ago on grass in Halle, where Kyrgios was victorious 6-4 in the third. Nick is actually 3-0 against Stefanos, with his other two wins coming on hard courts. Kyrgios barely survived his opening round contest, but played some of his best tennis in a straight-set win on Thursday over an in-form Filip Krajinovic. Tsitsipas was only 3-4 at Wimbledon ahead of this fortnight, and was on a three-match losing streak here, but has dropped only one set through two rounds. And just last week, he was a champion on grass in Mallorca. To many, Kyrgios appears to be the favorite. However, he is only 1-5 in his last six appearances in the third round of a Major. And as per Tennis Abstract, he hasn’t defeated a top five player since 2019 (Stefanos just re-joined that group this week). Also, Kyrgios will know many expect him to win this match, and pressure is something Nick often reacts to poorly on court. Tsitsipas is looking fully comfortable on grass, and I have a feeling he’s primed to earn his first victory over Kyrgios.
Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Lorenzo Sonego (27) – Third on Centre Court
Nadal is yet to reach his top level this week, but survived his first two matches in four sets. He is now an outstanding 32-3 this season, and is on a nine-match win streak. Sonego has now advanced to the third round of all three Majors this year, and reached the round of 16 here a year ago. While he does own two career victories over top five opposition (Djokovic, Thiem), he does not possess the offensive weaponry to threaten the 22-time Major champion. Assuming the condition of Nadal’s foot does not worsen, his form should improve as his first tournament on grass since 2019 progresses.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Harmony Tan vs. Katie Boulter (WC) – Both of these players already earned the biggest wins of their careers this week: Tan upset Serena Williams, while Boulter took out Karolina Pliskova. This is a first-time meeting between the two.
Barbora Krejcikova (13) vs. Ajla Tomljanovic – Both players reached the second week of this event a year ago, but only one will in 2022. This is another first-time encounter.
Botic van de Zandschulp (21) vs. Richard Gasquet – Van de Zandshulp is into his fourth straight third round at a Slam, just a year after he was ranked well outside the top 100. Gasquet is a two-time Wimbledon semifinalist, though this is his first time advancing to the third round since 2016. This is a rematch from this January’s Australian Open, when Botic prevailed after Richard retired mid-match.
Alex de Minaur (19) vs. Liam Broady (WC) – De Minaur defeated another British wild card, Jack Draper, on Thursday. Broady is a 28-year-old who won two five-setters this week to achieve his first appearance in the third round of a Major. These players met last year on grass in Eastbourne, with the Australian prevailing in straight sets.
Simona Halep (16) vs. Magdalena Frech – Halep is on a nine-match win streak at SW19, dating back to her title run in 2019. Frech is a 24-year-old who defeated Camila Giorgi in the first round. Simona has claimed both of their previous matches in straight sets, including earlier this season at the Australian Open.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.