Ok, now this is just getting silly. It’s like Wimbledon looked at the World Cup and said “hold my beer”.
Local hope Johanna Konta, 2017 finalist Marin Cilic, and 2017 women’s champion Garbine Muguruza were all bounced out of the tournament on day four of Wimbledon 2018. It’s not just the big names either — through two rounds, the tournament has lost 30 of its 64 seeds.
Especially on the women’s side, these first two days seem to be setting us up for one of the most chaotic tournaments in recent memory – which considering recent memory, is really saying something.
Will the shenanigans continue on day 5? Here’s hoping, and here’s your three to see for Friday at the Championships:
Sam Querrey (USA) [11] v Gael Monfils (FRA) – First on Centre
Two men who could hardly play more different if one was using a baseball bat, Sam Querrey gets to test his 1-2 punch efficiency against a man in Gael Monfils who seems to actively enjoy making his own life more difficult. Having lost both his two previous meetings to the Frenchman, Querrey comes into this match with some real work to do, as his grass court pedigree is unlikely to concern an opponent who has shown a serious ability to withstand his serve and even occasionally reverse the offensive. With that in mind it’s very possible this is the match where Querrey drops his first set of the tournament, if not even finding himself on the growing list of upsets.
Kiki Bertens (NED) [20] v Venus Williams (USA) [9] – Second on No. 1 Court
It’s been a difficult tournament so far for Venus Williams, who in dropping a set in each of her first two matches still looks a ways away from her 2017 final-reaching form. Now the 38-year-old gets Kiki Bertens, her opponent in a early match-of-the-year candidate at this year’s Miami Open, where Venus squandered a 5-0 lead in the first set, was a break down in the second and third, and fended off three match points to win 5-7, 6-3, 7-5. Of course, with the rematch taking place on Venus’ favourite surface a repeat of those shenanigans isn’t guaranteed, but the Bertens’ ability to redirect shots at pace can’t be discounted, and that makes this an affair well worth keeping an eye on.
Roger Federer (SUI) [1] v Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) – Third on Centre
With only seven other seeds left in his half of the draw, things are looking pretty groovy right now for Roger Federer, and yet, if there’s one thing the remaining field has in common, it’s propensity for big-serving, hard-hitting grass court play, including his opponent here, Jan-Lennard Struff. Having just fought his way back from two-sets-to-love down to beat Ivo Karlovic in the previous round (13-11 in the fifth!), Struff comes into this match supremely battle-tested, and assuming he manages to recover physically, will play a very high-pressure game, constantly looking to attack the net behind his forehand. As such the onus will be on Federer to absorb pressure as much as to create it, and while whatever he gives is likely to be good enough to down Struff, he’d do well to make a statement here with the likes of Querrey, Isner and Raonic all on deck.
