Andy Murray’s four-hour, five-set victory over Oscar Otte thrilled the Centre Court audience, but overcoming the firepower of top 10 seed Denis Shapovalov might be a task too tall for the two-time champion. Centre Court on Friday will also host another Brit, Dan Evans, as he faces the best male prospect from America in quite some time, Sebastian Korda. And to begin the day on Centre Court, 2017 champion Garbine Muguruza takes Ons Jabeur, the player who two days ousted the 2017 runner-up, Venus Williams.
Each day of the fortnight, this preview will highlight the five most intriguing matchups, while outlining the other notable matches on the schedule. Friday’s play will begin at 11:00am local time on all outer courts, 1:00pm on No.1 Court, and 1:30pm on Centre Court.
Karen Khachanov (25) vs. Frances Tiafoe – 11:00am on Court 18
These are two players with funky form on their forehands, but that does not prevent them from blasting the ball. Their only previous meeting took place at this same event, and in the same round. Three years ago at The All-England Club, Khachanov came back from two-sets-down to prevail 6-1 in the fifth. The Russian and American have extremely similar win-loss records in 2021, though Tiafoe arrives with much more momentum, as he won a Challenger title on grass a few weeks ago. Khachanov was only 1-2 in grass warm-up events, and owned a losing record this season on clay. With former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Wayne Ferreira on his team, I like Frances’ chances of reaching the second week of The Championships for the first time.
Garbine Muguruza (11) vs. Ons Jabeur (21) – 1:30pm on Centre Court
Muguruza has steamrolled her way through the draw thus far, and as The Tennis Podcast highlighted on Twitter, every time she’s advanced beyond the second round here, she’s appeared in the championship match. However, Jabeur will be one of the trickiest and most challenging opponents in her way. Ons is also yet to drop a set, and just won a grass title a few weeks ago in Birmingham. While Muguruza claimed their only prior encounter last year in Hobart, is was extremely tight, and decided by a third-set tiebreaker. Garbine got off to a great start this season before injuries sidetracked her, though she seems to be regaining her mojo. But a player like Jabeur who has won a lot of matches on British grass, and whose crafty style is rewarded by this surface, is a significant threat to upset the two-time Major champ.
Dan Evans (22) vs. Sebastian Korda – Second on Centre Court
31-year-old Evans recently debuted inside the top 25, and is now the British No.1. But a victory on Friday would be breaking new ground for Evans, who has never advanced beyond the third round at a Slam. Trying to do so on your country’s biggest court is quite a lot of pressure. And doing so against a fast-rising, composed 21-year-old like Korda will be anything but easy. 18 months ago, Sebastian was barely ranked inside the top 250, but he’s risen 200 spots in a short span. Korda has already reached two tour finals this year, and could soon be the top-ranked American man if he keeps winning at this pace. Unlike Evans, Korda is not a player to be overwhelmed on big stages such as Centre Court, which could be the key to victory on this day.
Denis Shapovalov (10) vs. Andy Murray (WC) – Third on Centre Court
At last summer’s US Open, Murray overcame Yoshihito Nishioka in an exhausting five-set match. A round later, he was easily dispatched by Felix Auger-Aliassime. It seems as if the same scenario is about to play out, as another young Canadian, Denis Shapovalov, will be a daunting chore for a tired Murray. Denis also played a five-setter this week, but he received a walkover in the second round from Pablo Andujar. So Shapovalov will be the fresher player, and is a lot more match tough. Denis gained some confidence on the grass with his semifinal run two weeks ago at Queen’s Club. Despite the wishes of the Centre Court crowd, Shapovalov should be able to comfortably dismiss the two-time defending Olympic champion.
Elise Mertens (13) vs. Madison Keys (23) – Third on No.1 Court
Keys is 2-0 against Mertens, having taken both their hard court matches in straight sets. It’s been a rough season for Madison, who missed the Australian summer due to a positive COVID-19 test, and arrived at SW19 with a losing record. Surprisingly, her power game hasn’t yielded too many deep runs on these lawns, with her 2015 quarterfinal appearance remaining her best to date. But she remains a big threat on this surface, as she displayed two weeks ago in Berlin when she defeated Aryna Sabalenka 7-5 in the third. Mertens has allowed her opponents only six games in four sets to this stage, but this has easily been the worst of the four Majors in her career. Keys should be considered a slight favorite to reach Manic Monday for the first time in five years, though Mertens’ consistency could prove troubling for Madison if she becomes error-prone, which she often does.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Denis Kudla – The 28-year-old American reached the fourth round of The Championships in 2015, but has never beaten a top 10 player in his career. That includes two straight-set losses to Djokovic at Majors.
Andrey Rublev (5) vs. Fabio Fognini (26) – The Italian is 5-2 against Rublev, though the Russian dominated Fognini earlier this year in the ATP Cup. And Fabio has never gone beyond the third round of Wimbledon.
Aryna Sabalenka (2) vs. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano (Q) – Sabalenka survived a stern test from Katie Boulter in the last round. Osorio Serrano is a 19-year-old from Colombia who won a clay title in Bogota earlier this season.
Iga Swiatek (7) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu – Swiatek has breezed through the first two rounds. Begu was 4-8 lifetime at this event prior to this third-round run.
Roberto Bautista Agut (8) vs. Dominik Koepfer – Bautista Agut was a semifinalist here two years ago, but has already played nine sets this week. Koepfer is also coming off a five-setter, and played an excellent third round match last month at Roland Garros against Roger Federer.
Liudmila Samsonova vs. Sloane Stephens – Samsonova is a 20-year-old Russian who a few weeks ago was the champion on the grass of Berlin. And last January in Brisbane, she defeated Stephens in three sets.
Nick Kyrgios and Venus Williams vs. Austin Krajicek and Sabrina Santamaria – This will be the highly-anticipated debut of Nick and Venus as a mixed doubles team.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
