Centre Court
Let’s look at some matches for the 4th round of Wimbledon, including Jannik Sinner vs Ben Shelton.
Carlos Alcaraz (3) vs Ugo Humbert
Alcaraz was pushed all the way in the third-round by Frances Tiafoe. The Spaniard struggled to find his usual free-flowing tennis and was within a couple of points from losing the match. He managed to find another gear however, winning the last two sets to reach the fourth-round for the third consecutive year. Humbert himself had a battle in the third-round, squeezing past Nakashima in four sets. The Frenchman is a competent grass–court player so this will be no walk in the park for Alcaraz. However, I expect the defending champion to step up.
Prediction – Alcaraz to win in 3 sets
Emma Raducanu vs Lulu Sun
This fortnight, Emma Raducanu has been playing some of her best tennis since she won the 2021 US Open. Defeating Elise Mertens and Maria Sakkari back-to-back is no easy feat. The pair could only take a combined eight games off the Brit. I expect Raducanu to go into this match with full confidence. The qualifier, Lulu Sun has been impressive to reach the fourth-round in her first main draw appearance at the All England Club. The New Zealander, playing in only her second major, shocked world number 8, Zheng Qinwen in the first-round and has backed this up with two further wins.
As good an achievement as this is for Sun, she hasn’t yet faced anyone who has significant grass-court experience, something Raducanu has.
Prediction – Raducanu to win in 2 sets
Coco Gauff (2) vs Emma Navarro
Gauff has been looking in fine form for this tournament. In the third-round, Gauff recorded another straight sets win against Sonay Kartal to set-up an all-American clash with Emma Navarro. This will be Gauff’s biggest test so far. Navarro too has been playing some great tennis this week. She dispatched Naomi Osaka without too much trouble and backed this up with a win against talented youngster, Diana Shaider. This will not be an easy match for Gauff. Navarro may not have had the power but she certainly has the consistency to force Gauff to play her best.
Prediction – Gauff to win in 3 sets
Court 1
Jasmine Paolini (7) vs Madison Keys (12)
Paolini is yet to drop a set at this year’s tournament, having come through Bianca Andreescu in the third-round. The French Open finalist has looked very comfortable on the grass and will go into this match full of confidence that she will win this match. Keys has been going under the radar this tournament. The American, now 29, is still searching for her maiden major title 13 years after making her debut at the 2011 US Open.
Keys is a very good grass-court player, even better than Paolini. I do think Paolini’s current level of tennis is better than Keys’ but the American’s serve and forehand give her the slight advantage on the grass. This will be a very close match but I do think Keys’ game is tailor made for this surface so she will squeeze past the Italian.
Prediction – Keys to win in 3 sets
Jannik Sinner (1) vs Ben Shelton
It’s going to take a lot to beat Jannik Sinner this fortnight. The Italian has dropped only one set against big-serving Matteo Berrettini and has rarely looked in any sort of trouble. He motored past Kecmanovic with relative ease in the third-round and I expect him to do the same against Shelton.
Yes, Shelton possesses arguably the biggest serve on tour which you’d think would be helpful on the grass. However, the young American hasn’t looked particularly impressive in any of his previous rounds and all his matches have gone to five sets. I do think Shelton will raise his game and will cause Sinner some problems just with his serve but he is just too inconsistent to cause any sort of challenge.
Prediction – Sinner to win in 4 sets
Grigor Dimitrov (10) vs Daniil Medvedev
Grigor Dimitrov is looking to make the quarter-final for only the second time in his career. The Bulgarian made his only semi-finals of Wimbledon 10 years ago where he narrowly lost to Novak Djokovic. Pretty surprising for someone whose game looks tailor-made for grass. Dimitrov has had a bit of a resurgence in the past two years, and is showing not only a high level of tennis, but also consistent results. Medvedev was given a tricky third-round opponent Jan-Lennard Struff but came through that test with flying colours.
This is a very fifty-fifty match so it’s hard to pick a winner. Both players can serve well so will be hard to break. It could well be a match of tie-breaks. Dimitrov will look to use his slice to keep the ball low and out of Medvedev’s hitting zone and dictate points with his forehand. Medvedev will try to keep the Bulgarian back behind the baseline with relentless pressure. This match could go either way but I’m going to give the edge to Dimitrov.
Prediction: Dimitrov to win in 5 sets
