Day 7 at The Championships sees the beginning of the round of 16 in the gentlemen’s and ladies’ singles draws. And with further rain in Sunday’s forecast, those players scheduled on Centre Court and No.1 Court must be thankful.
Sunday provides some appetizing round of 16 matchups. World No.1 Jannik Sinner faces a tough test in mposing young American, Ben Shelton. Directly thereafter on No.1 Court, in a collision between top 10 seeds, Daniil Medvedev takes on Grigor Dimitrov. Plus, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz faces France’s Ugo Humbert.
In ladies’ singles action, reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff plays fellow American Emma Navarro. Another American, Madison Keys, squares off against recent Roland Garros runner-up, Jasmine Paolini of Italy. And the last British woman standing, Emma Raducanu, plays qualifier Lulu Sun.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Sunday’s play is scheduled to begin at 11:00am local time.
Jasmine Paolini this week at The Championships (twitter.com/wimbledon)
Jasmine Paolini (7) vs. Madison Keys (12) – 1:00pm on No.1 Court
Paolini is now 27-12 this season, highlighted by a WTA 1000 title in Dubai, and reaching her first Major final in Paris. She’s actually reached the fourth round or better at every Major this year, and is yet to lose a set this fortnight. And prior to this year, Jasmine has never won a tour-level match on grass. Her rise in 2024 has been mightily impressive.
By contrast, Keys has a strong resume on this surface, with three career grass court titles. However, Wimbledon is surprisingly the only Slam where she is yet to advance to a semifinal, though she is a two-time quarterfinalist, including last year. Madison also hasn’t lost a set through three rounds, and she has only been broken twice.
Their only previous meeting occurred last year in Dubai on a hard court, where Keys easily prevailed 6-1, 6-1. But Paolini is a completely different player in 2024, and I expect a much tighter affair on Sunday. However, I still expect the same result, as this surface definitively favors Madison.
Jannik Sinner this week at Wimbledon (twitter.com/wimbledon)
Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Ben Shelton (14) – Second on No.1 Court
Sinner is an absurd 41-3 on the year, with four titles, which of course includes his first Major in Melbourne. He was quite ill ahead of the French Open, so it was not a shock to see him lose in the semifinals to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. But he appears fully healthy after coming off his first grass court title in Halle two weeks ago, and Jannik already overcame another big-serving threat during the first week, in fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini.
Prior to this tournament, Shelton was a mere 3-6 lifetime on grass, as he was yet to find his footing on this surface. However, Ben has fought his way through three consecutive five-setters to reach the fourth round of a Major for the third time out of eight appearances. The issue is Shelton had to play all six days of this event due to rain delays, and he was even playing men’s doubles late on Saturday evening. So despite his young age and eye-popping fitness, Ben must be exhausted.
Sinner and Shelton have played three times within the past nine months, with the Italian taking two of those three matchups. Last October, Ben won an extremely close three-setter in Shanghai, with Jannik avenging that loss just a few weeks later in Vienna. And this past March in Indian Wells, Sinner won for a second consecutive time in straight sets. On Sunday, Jannik is again a considerable favorite over a depleted Ben.
Daniil Medvedev earlier this week (twitter.com/Wimbledon)
Grigor Dimitrov (10) vs. Daniil Medvedev (5) – Third on No.1 Court
These players have met 10 times since 2017, with Medvedev leading 7-3. And while their only grass court encounter went to Dimitrov, that came over seven years ago in their first meeting, before Medvedev had become a top player. Daniil has taken four of their last five, though last November in Bercy, Grigor won a dramatic contest that lasted nearly three hours, and was decided in a third-set tiebreak.
Grass is far from Medvedev’s favorite surface, but he’s played well to this stage, losing only two sets. And Daniil was a semifinalist here a year ago. Dimitrov’s semifinal appearance here occurred 10 years ago, and a few days ago in the second round, he had to erase a two-set deficit against Juncheng Shang. Yet since last fall, Grigor has played some of the best tennis of his career.
On this surface, I like Dimitrov’s chances of beating Medvedev on Sunday. Grigor’s variety is rewarded by the lawns of The All-England Club, especially when he plays more aggressively, as he has of late.
Coco Gauff practicing last week (twitter.com/wimbledon)
Emma Navarro (19) vs. Coco Gauff (2) – Third on Centre Court
Gauff has simply crushed the competition thus far, dropping only 10 games across six sets. She is now 35-10 in 2024, as she looks to advance to her fourth consecutive Major semifinal since winning the US Open last summer. This is her third time in the round of 16 at The Championships, since first doing so in a thrilling run as a 15-year-old, though she’s 0-2 in this round.
Navarro played sensationally in her Centre Court debut earlier this week, taking out Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-1. She followed that up with a three-set victory over recent grass court champion Diana Shnaider. It’s been a breakthrough season for 23-year-old Emma, who is now 39-15 at all levels.
When Coco and Emma played at the beginning of the year in Auckland, Gauff was victorious 6-3, 6-1, in their only match to date. And while Navarro was successful against a similarly-powerful opponent in Osaka, Gauff is currently playing at a more elite level, and should be favored to advance.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Paula Badosa vs. Donna Vekic – Badosa upset 14th-seeded Daria Kasatkina in the last round, to reach the fourth round at a Major for the first time in two years, as injuries have interrupted her career. Vekic won a three-set slugfest on Friday against Dayana Yastremska, as she now vies for her third Major quarterfinal.
Tommy Paul (12) vs. Roberto Bautista Agut – Paul is on an eight-match grass court win streak, after claiming the title two weeks ago at Queen’s Club. Bautista Agut was a semifinalist here in 2019, but he’s currently ranked outside the top 100, and this is the first time he has won three consecutive main draw matches in over a year. Roberto leads their head-to-head 3-2, though Tommy took their last two encounters.
Carlos Alcaraz (3) vs. Ugo Humbert (16) – Alcaraz survived in five sets over Frances Tiafoe on Friday, and he’s now a ridiculous 12-1 in five-setters. This is Humbert’s second appearance in the round of 16 at a Slam, after first doing so five years ago at this same event.
Lulu Sun (Q) vs. Emma Raducanu – Raducanu is yet to drop a set and has looked extremely sharp, though she did pull out of mixed doubles with Andy Murray on Saturday, citing wrist tightness. Lulu Sun is a 23-year-old qualifier from New Zealand who has won six matches since the beginning of qualifying last week, and upset Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zheng in the first round of the main draw.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.
