Due to rain, as well as some dubious scheduling decisions by the AELTC, some players are yet to complete their first round match, while others have already advanced to the third round.
Hopefully clear skies will allow the tournament to catch up a bit on Thursday. This preview will look at newly-scheduled second round matches for Day 4, which is headlined by Andy Murray facing Stefanos Tsitsipas in a blockbuster second round matchup. Previews of other second round matches that were canceled on Wednesday can be found here.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Thursday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Sloane Stephens vs. Donna Vekic (20) – Second on No.1 Court
Vekic is a threat to make a deep run this fortnight. She’s 25-10 on the year, and was the runner-up two weeks ago in Berlin on grass. While she’s just 7-8 lifetime at this event, her flat groundstrokes are ideal for this surface. Donna achieved her second Slam quarterfinal this year in Australia, and she recently added someone to her coaching team who knows all about playing on grass courts: Pam Shriver, who reached three Wimbledon semifinals in singles and won this event five times in doubles.
Stephens remains an inconsistent performer, as she’s just 13-12 in 2023. And while she is a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist, that result occurred a full 10 years ago. But Sloane remains a considerable threat from the back of the court, with easy power and good foot speed.
Vekic is 2-1 against Stephens, which includes a 6-1, 6-3 victory at this event in 2018. And Donna should be favored to defeat Sloane again on Thursday.
Danielle Collins vs. Belinda Bencic (14) – Third on No.2 Court
Collins is never a name players want to see in their section of a draw at a Major. She’s a big match player, and one of the most aggressive and ferocious competitors in the sport. And Bencic has been battling a hip injury of late, so she’s far from her top level.
After getting off to a strong 20-6 start to the year, with two titles and one further final, Belinda has only played two matches within the past three months. Meanwhile Danielle is just 10-11 this season, and like Belinda, has only played two matches since the first week of April. The American has battled multiple injuries and illnesses across the last several season.
Collins claimed their only prior meeting, three year ago on a hard court in Adelaide. And on a similarly fast surface at the AELTC, I give Danielle and her powerful groundies the slight edge.
Andy Murray vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) – Third on Centre Court
Andy Murray plans his entire season around peaking for Wimbledon. After some strong hard court results to start the year, Murray skipped Roland Garros, opting instead to play four Challenger events: two on clay and two on grass. And he won three of the four, including both on grass. Andy is now 61-12 at SW19, and will be fully fresh on Thursday after a straight-set victory on Tuesday.
Tsitsipas will be anything but fresh. On Wednesday evening, he completed a five-set victory over Dominic Thiem that was stretched across two days, and went all the way into a fifth-set tiebreak. And Stefanos is now just 6-5 in his career at Wimbledon.
They have split two previous meetings. At the 2021 US Open, Tsitsipas claimed an epic first round five-setter that lasted nearly five hours. Last year on grass in Stuttgart, Murray avenged that heartbreaking loss in straight sets.
This match may be Andy’s biggest hurdle in making his first deep run at a Major in six years. Many are considering him the favorite against Tsitsipas on Thursday, including myself. But will knowing that, and wanting so badly to achieve another strong result at his favorite tournament, prevent Murray from playing his best tennis? After much recent disappointment at Majors, I expect a fresh Andy to overcome those feelings, as well as Tsitsipas, on Day 4.
Daniil Medvedev (3) vs. Adrian Mannarino – Fourth on No.2 Court
Medvedev leads the tour with 42 wins this season, but as usual, the vast majority of those victories came on a hard court. Can he be a threat on grass despite his extreme return position at the back of the court? He’s now 9-4 at The Championships, and did win a grass court title a few years ago in Mallorca. And he’s in an open section of the draw.
Mannarino played a grass court final just two days before this tournament began, also in Mallorca. He’s now 8-3 on grass this season, and his unorthodox style plays well on this surface. Two years ago on Centre Court, Adrian was up two-sets-to-one over Roger Federer before suffering a knee injury in the fourth set.
Mannarino leads their head-to-head 4-2, and 3-1 on grass. That includes a three-set victory just a few weeks ago on this surface. But in the best-of-five format, and considering the amount of confidence Medvedev has built up this season, I favor Daniil to advance.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Veronika Kudermetova (12) vs. Marketa Vondrousova – Kudermetova is 25-13 on the year, and coming off a run to a grass court final a few weeks ago, yet she’s only 2-2 lifetime at SW19. Vondrousova is 25-10 this season, and is just 2-4 at this event. They have split two previous meetings on hard courts.
Alize Cornet vs. Elena Rybakina (3) – Rybakina came back from a set down in her opening round as the defending champion, and admitted afterward to being very nervous. Cornet has made a career out of upsetting top names at Majors, which includes a win over Iga Swiatek here a year ago. Elena defeated Alize twice in 2020, both times in straight sets.
Leylah Fernandez vs. Caroline Garcia (5) – Garcia is 28-14 this season, but she’s just 11-9 at Wimbledon. Fernandez is 19-14 in 2023, and only 3-3 lifetime on grass. Caroline already bested Leylah twice this year, at the Australian Open and Indian Wells.
Marie Bouzkova (32) vs. Anett Kontaveit – Bouzkova reached the quarterfinals here a year ago, but she’s only 10-15 this season. Kontaveit will retire after this tournament due to a chronic back injury, and she’s just 7-8 this year. Anett claimed their only previous encounter, three years ago on a hard court.
Mirra Andreeva (Q) vs. Barbora Krejcikova (10) – Krejickova is 25-12 this year, and was the runner-up on grass two weeks ago in Birmingham. Andreeva is one of the breakout stars of 2023, as the 16-year-old reached the fourth round in Madrid, and the third round in Paris.
Milos Raonic vs. Tommy Paul (16) – On Wednesday, Raonic won only his second match in two years, extending his record in the first round of The Championships to 10-0. Paul achieved his first Major semifinal this past January in Melbourne, and reached the final of Eastbourne last week. Two years ago in Acapulco, Milos beat Tommy in straight sets.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
