The tournament is finally back on schedule, though thunderstorms in the Saturday forecast may quickly change that.
On Saturday in London, two-time Major finalist Ons Jabeur takes on 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu. Other third round WTA action on Day 6 features defending champion Elena Rybakina, Australian Open champ Aryna Sabalenka, and 16-year-old sensation Mirra Andreeva.
Men’s singles third round matches on Saturday are headlined by a collision between two Major finalists: Sascha Zverev and Matteo Berrettini. Plus two Slam semifinalists, Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov, will also face off, while top six seeds Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Holger Rune all play considerable opposition.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Saturday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Nicolas Jarry (25) – 1:30pm on Centre Court
Alcaraz is now an outstanding 42-4 on the year. Yet despite his Major title triumph last summer in New York, questions remain regarding his five-set readiness after cramping badly against Novak Djokovic in Paris. Carlos cannot face Novak until the championship match, but he’s in a tough quarter of the draw with names like Rune, Tiafoe, Zverev, and Berrettini.
Jarry is also having a great season. The 27-year-old recently debuted inside the top 30 thanks to a record of 24-10, with two clay court titles (Santiago, Geneva). A few weeks ago on Tennis Channel, Paul Annacone named Nicolas as a dark horse in this Wimbledon draw, based on his serving prowess, as well as his upset over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Halle on grass. He is vying for his second consecutive fourth round appearance at a Major, his best result to date.
These players met earlier this year on clay in Rio, where Alcaraz came back from a set down to prevail 6-0 in the third. I expect Jarry to push the top seed into a fourth or fifth set on Saturday, though Carlitos remains the favorite to advance.
Ons Jabeur (6) vs. Bianca Andreescu – Second on Centre Court
Jabeur has endured a tough season due to multiple injuries, but grass may be her best surface. She reached the quarterfinals here two years ago, and last year was just a set away from the title. Ons has comfortably advanced in straight sets through two rounds.
Andreescu barely made it this far, playing three sets in each of her first two matches, and surviving a final-set tiebreak on Friday afternoon against Anhelina Kalinina. And unfortunately Bianca knows all too much regarding injuries, as she’s yet to recapture her top form of four years ago.
Two years ago in Andreescu’s home country, Jabeur defeated her 6-1 in the third. And on this surface, Ons is a considerable favorite to win again on Saturday.
Frances Tiafoe (10) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (21) – Third on No.2 Court
This is a rematch from an excellent round of 16 match at the 2019 Australian Open, when Tiafoe prevailed after four tight sets to achieve his first Major quarterfinal. Four years later, and after another breakthrough last year at the US Open, reaching the semifinals, Frances is a recent new member of the top 10 after winning a grass court title in Stuttgart. He’s looking to reach the second week of The Championships for the second straight year.
Dimitrov is a former Wimbledon semifinalist, all the way back in 2014. While his game is well suited for this surface, he’s failed to reach the second week here since 2017. Grigor is 22-12 in 2023.
Neither player has dropped a set yet, so both should be fully fresh and feeling confident. While Tiafoe won that Australian Open matchup, which is their most recent encounter, Dimitrov took their other two, both of which took place on a hard court in 2018. But based on recent form, Frances should be favored to even their head-to-head.
Sascha Zverev (19) vs. Matteo Berrettini – Third on No.1 Court
Zverev is 26-16 this season, and seems to be rounding back into form after missing the last six months of 2022 due to the brutal injury he suffered at last year’s French Open. Sascha has now reached the semifinals in each of his last three events (Geneva, Roland Garros, Halle). Wimbledon is the only Major where he’s yet to advance beyond the round of 16, as he looks to reach that stage for the third time.
Berrettini has now played several days in a row due to rain early in the week, and despite arriving at SW19 with no form due to an abdominal injury, on Friday he played his best tennis since January in taking out Alex de Minaur in straight sets. Matteo is now 35-7 lifetime on this surface, with four titles, as well as an appearance in the 2021 Wimbledon championship match, when he lost to Djokovic in four sets.
Zverev is 4-1 against Berrettini, though they’ve never played at a Major, nor on grass. If Matteo can maintain his high level from Friday, he has a legitimate shot against Sascha, especially on this surface. However, the more match-tough player is definitively the German, who should be able to prevail in a best-of-five encounter.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Daniil Medvedev (3) vs. Marton Fucsovics – Medvedev leads the ATP with 43 match wins, and won his first two matches here in straight sets. Fucsovics was a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2021. Daniil leads their head-to-head 2-1 at tour level, though they’ve never met on grass.
Laslo Djere vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) – Tsitsipas defeated Andy Murray in a five-setter stretched across two days to make this round, and also played doubles with his brother on Friday evening after completing his singles match against Murray. Djere beat two Americans to get here (Cressy, Shelton), winning four of five tiebreaks contested in those matches. Stefanos claimed both their prior encounters in straight sets.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (31) vs. Holger Rune (6) – Rune has not dropped a set through two rounds. Davidovich Fokina has dropped one, after taking out Botic van de Zandschulp on Friday. Earlier this season in Madrid on clay, Alejandro outlasted Holger in a three-hour three-setter, decided by a third-set tiebreak.
Anna Blinkova vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Sabalenka survived a scare from Varvara Gracheva on Friday, coming back from a set down. Blinkova is 22-17 this season, but she’s yet to reach the second week of a Major in her career. Aryna is 2-0 against Anna, though both matches went the distance.
Anastasia Potapova (22) vs. Mirra Andreeva (Q) – Potapova is now 25-11 on the year, though like Blinkova, she’s yet to go beyond this round of a Slam. Andreeva is an impressive 16-year-old who has now reached the third round or better at all three tour-level events she’s played this year (Madrid, Roland Garros, Wimbledon). Mirra upset Barbora Krejcikova in the last round.
Katie Boulter (WC) vs. Elena Rybakina (3) – Rybakina is on a nine-match win streak at The All England Club. Boulter is a 26-eary-old Brit who is now 6-4 lifetime at SW19, and a year ago she upset Karolina Pliskova.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.
