Day 4 at The Championships sees the continuation of second round play in singles, as well as first round play in doubles, though rain may continue to disrupt matters.
With two-time champion Andy Murray having played his last singles match at Wimbledon, Great Britain is eager to discover who will be their next title contender. 22-year-old Jack Draper is the most likely candidate, as he’s the current British No.1, and is coming off a grass court title a few weeks ago in Stuttgart. However, 28-year-old Cameron Norrie was a semifinalist here two years ago, and on Thursday he gets a chance to reassert himself into the conversation against Draper.
Speaking of Murray, while his singles career at his favorite tournament may be over, his doubles career is far from it. On Wednesday, it was announced he will play mixed doubles alongside fellow Brit Emma Raducanu. And on Thursday, he’ll play his first round match in men’s doubles on Centre Court, alongside brother Jamie.
Other matches on Day 4 include Major champions such as Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, and Caroline Wozniacki, who faces 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez.
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.
Hubert Hurkacz (7) vs. Arthur Fils – 11:00am on No.2 Court
Since the start of Wimbledon last July, Hurkacz has rather quietly accumulated 57 match wins, and currently sits at a new career-high of No.7 in the world. Grass is most certainly his strongest surface, as Hubi’s only Major semifinal came here three years ago, when he defeated Roger Federer in what would be Federer’s last-ever singles match. Two weeks ago, Hurkacz was the runner-up in Halle, where he beat Sascha Zverev in the semis. The seventh seed came from a set down to prevail in four sets against Radu Albot on Tuesday.
Fils was also victorious in four sets on Tuesday, over Dominic Stricker. The 20-year-old Frenchman had a breakout season in 2023, winning his first ATP title on clay in his home country, at a 250-level event in Lyon. But Arthur is just 17-16 at tour level in 2024, and only 4-4 lifetime on grass.
In their first career meeting, Hurkacz is a clear favorite on this surface, despite Fils’ impressive power on his serve and groundstrokes. Hubi is a potential quarterfinal opponent for Djokovic, which would be a dangerous draw for the 23-time Major champion.
Jack Draper (28) vs. Cameron Norrie – Second on No.1 Court
Like Hurkacz, Draper is currently at a career-best ranking, as the World No.28. Jack is 21-13 on the year, and his title run in Stuttgart last month was his second final of the year, after being the runner-up this past January in Adelaide. He has dealt with a few injuries in his young career, as well as cramping issues in warmer conditions, though the forecast remains rather cool this week at SW19. Placed on Centre Court on Tuesday after Murray pulled out of the singles draw earlier in the day, Draper was understandably nervous, yet managed to advance in five over Elias Ymer.
Norrie was a top 20 mainstay for over two years, peaking at No.8 in September of 2022. But he has fallen outside the top 40 in 2024, with a record of just 16-14. Cam has suffered both a wrist and foot injury during this season. The 2022 semifinalist won in straight sets on Tuesday, over Facundo Diaz Acosta.
These left-handed Brits have played twice before, and Norrie has taken both meetings. However, they both occurred a few years ago, while Draper was still ranked well outside the top 100. This will be a tricky and nerve-filled encounter for both, as the eyes of the British public and media are on both to see who is truly the best British player in men’s singles. Recent form dictates Draper be considered the favorite, but if this match goes the distance, that likely favors Norrie, who is one of the fittest players on tour.
Rinky Hijikata and John Peers vs. Andy Murray and Jamie Murray – Third on Centre Court
It will be quite an emotional moment to watch Andy Murray return to Centre Court in his last year playing Wimbledon, especially alongside his older brother Jamie. The Murray brothers teamed up to help lead Great Britain to the Davis Cup title in 2015. However, they do not regularly team up, and it was only two weeks ago that Andy had a small procedure done on his back after withdrawing from Queen’s Club.
But Australia’s Hijikata and Peers are also not a regular partnership, though both have achieved strong doubles results with different partners. Rinky won the Australian Open men’s doubles title last year alongside another Australian, Jason Kubler. Peers has won both a men’s doubles and mixed doubles title at Majors, and is a two-time doubles champion at the ATP Finals.
The crowd will certainly play an influential role on Thursday, yet considering Andy’s back issue, it’s hard to consider the Murrays as the favorites, despite what any heartstrings may say. However, Andy has created plenty of magic on Centre Court in his career, and Jamie is an extremely accomplished doubles player, as he’s a seven-time Major champion between men’s and mixed doubles. It’s extremely rare to see a doubles match on Centre Court this early in The Championships, but this is a special occasion, and it should be highly entertaining.
Caroline Wozniacki (WC) vs. Leylah Fernandez (30) – Not Before 4:30pm on Court 12
In her first match at Wimbledon since 2019, Wozniacki looked really sharp, taking out Alycia Parks by the score of 6-2, 6-0. Wimbledon is the only Major where Caroline has never reached a quarterfinal, though she actually owns more wins here than at Roland Garros. The 2018 Australian Open champ is now 14-12 since unretiring last summer, but she’s a more impressive 5-2 at Majors.
Fernandez is a modest 18-14 this season, but she’s been playing quite well coming into this fortnight. At Roland Garros, she lost a tight, high-quality two-setter to Ons Jabeur in the third round. And just last week in Eastbourne, Leylah advanced all the way to the final, losing to Daria Kasatkina. Like Wozniacki, Fernandez was also a straight-set winner in her opening round, to earn just her second career victory at Wimbledon.
In another first-time matchup, I give the slight edge to Wozniacki. Her flat hitting can be tough to counteract on this surface, and Caroline is still a great mover. Despite Leylah’s run last week, she remains rather inexperienced on grass, with just 16 career matches. The winner may face 2022 champion Elena Rybakina in the third round.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Jacob Fearnley (WC) vs. Novak Djokovic (2) – Djokovic made a strong showing in his first match after knee surgery, dropping just five games on Tuesday. Fearnley is a 22-year-old British wild card ranked 277th in the world, who this week earned his first-ever victory at a Major.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Petra Martic – Swiatek comfortably overcame Sofia Kenin on Tuesday. She is 3-0 against Martic, which includes a victory at this same event a year ago.
Marcos Giron vs. Alexander Zverev (4) – Zverev is just 14-7 lifetime at Wimbledon, by far his worst Major. But he’s 1-0 against Giron, who has never advanced beyond the second round of The Championships.
Elena Rybakina (4) vs. Laura Siegemund – Rybakina lost just four games in her opening round. She leads Siegemund 3-1 at tour level, and Laura is just 2-4 lifetime in singles at this tournament.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
