Historically, tradition has dictated the first Sunday of Wimbledon sees no play. But that changes this year, with fourth round singles matches spread across Sunday and Monday. This marks the end of Manic Monday, when those matches were all scheduled on the second Monday of the tournament.
Sunday’s schedule is headlined by a clash between two top 10 seeds, who are also two of the sport’s fastest rising stars, as Carlos Alcaraz takes on Jannik Sinner. Three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic looks to extend his 24-match win streak at Wimbledon against Tim van Rijthoven, who is an undefeated 8-0 at tour level this past month. And in what should be a matchup full of guile and finesse, Ons Jabeur faces Elise Mertens.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s five most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Sunday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Frances Tiafoe (23) vs. David Goffin – Second on No.2 Court
Both players have advanced rather comfortably to this stage, dropping only one set each. Tiafoe is vying for his second Major quarterfinal, while Goffin is vying for his fourth, and his second at The Championships. Tiafoe’s far-superior power game would seemingly make him the favorite over Goffin on this surface. But ahead of this tournament, Frances was only 5-4 at SW19, compared to a 12-7 record for David. And their head-to-head has been quite one-sided. Goffin leads Tiafoe 4-1, which includes a four-set win in the second round of the last Slam in Paris. The American’s only victory came three years ago in Miami. And David owns a much better record this season (25-16 compared to 15-13). Over the course of five sets, Goffin’s speedy defensive skills may be enough to propel him to his fifth victory over Tiafoe.
Jelena Ostapenko (12) vs. Tatjana Maria – 1:00pm on No.1 Court
Ostapenko is looking to advance to the quarterfinals or better at this event for the third time. And the 2017 Roland Garros champion is in the midst of a strong season, with a 23-11 record and a title run in Dubai. And just last week, Jelena was a finalist in Eastbourne. In a wide-open quarter of the draw, where she is the only player ranked above No.97 in the world, Ostapenko is a considerable favorite to reach her second Wimbledon semifinal. And before this week, Maria was on nine-match losing streak at Slams. A year ago during this event, Tatjana was giving birth to her second child. But she’s returned to the tour with a vengeance in 2022, accumulating 34 match wins at all levels. Her game is well-suited for grass, and she upset Maria Sakkari in the last round. In their first career meeting, Ostapenko’s current form and aggressive groundstrokes make her the favorite. But her game can also be quite unreliable, and Jelena can rack up unforced errors in large bunches. If she does, a Maria upset is entirely possible.
Carlos Alcaraz (5) vs. Jannik Sinner (10) – Second on Centre Court
19-year-old Alcaraz and 20-year-old Sinner are extremely inexperienced on this surface. Before this tournament, Carlos had only played two matches on grass, while Jannik was 0-4 in the main draw of grass court events. Yet both have proven this week that they are formidable opposition on this surface. Alcaraz survived a tight five-setter in the first round against Jan-Lennard Struff, and Sinner earned wins over both Stan Wawrinka and John Isner. They’ve played once at tour-level, with Carlitos winning two tight sets last November in Bercy on an indoor hard court. Both players are having very strong seasons, with Alcaraz owning a record of 35-4, and Sinner 30-8. But Sinner’s game seems a better fit for this surface, so I give him the slight edge to prevail in what should be another close matchup between these two.
Ons Jabeur (3) vs. Elise Mertens (24) – Third on No.1 Court
Their paths to this matchup could not be much different. Jabeur has only dropped 13 games across six sets, while Mertens came back from a set down in both her first two matches, saving two match points in the second round. However, in their only previous meeting at last year’s US Open, it was Mertens who was victorious in straight sets. Elise has advanced beyond this round of a Major three times, though she’s 3-8 in the round of 16 at Slams, and has stalled in this round at the last three. Ons is now a two-time Major quarterfinalist, and is looking to match her result from this event a year ago. Jabeur is currently playing with great confidence, and is an excellent 33-9 on the season. I like her chances of evening her record against Mertens on Sunday.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Tim van Rijthoven (WC) – Third on Centre Court
Van Rijthoven has come out of nowhere during this grass court season. Prior to last month, the 25-year-old had never played a main draw match at tour-level, as multiple serious injuries had derailed his career. Yet as a wild card ranked outside the top 200, he became the champion in s-Hertogenbosch, where he defeated three top 20 players (Fritz, Auger-Aliassime, Medvedev). And now in his Major debut, he’s taken out two seeded players (Opelka, Basilashvili). But can he challenge the 20-time Major champion? Tim certainly has plenty of confidence right now, and has a booming serve that can earn him some easy holds. He’s struck 53 aces across his first three matches. I would not be surprised if he takes a set off Djokovic, but I would be truly shocked if he can take three. Novak has not lost at this event since 2017, and has solidified himself as the best grass court player of the last decade. And in his last two rounds, he surrendered only seven games per match.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Caroline Garcia vs. Marie Bouzkova – Garica survived a third-set tiebreak in the first round, then defeated two seeded players in straight sets (Emma Raducanu and Shuai Zhang). Bouzkova took out three straight Americans thus far (Collins, Li, Riske), and was just 3-12 in the main draw of Majors prior to this fortnight. When they played on grass last year in Birmingham, Marie prevailed 6-3, 6-0.
Jule Niemeier vs. Heather Watson – For 30-year-old Watson, this is her first appearance in the round of 16 at a Major. 22-year-old Niemeier had never won a main draw match at a Slam before this run. Earlier this year in Monterrey, Heather overcame Jule in a third-set tiebreak.
Cameron Norrie (9) vs. Tommy Paul (30) – This is Norrie’s first appearance in the round of 16 at a Slam, after previously going 0-5 in the third round. This is also Paul’s debut in this round at a Slam, coming off two quarterfinals on grass last month. Cam is 2-1 against Tommy, with all three matches taking place on hard courts.
Jamie Murray and Venus Williams (WC) vs. Jonny O’Mara and Alicia Barnett (WC) – Jamie and Venus prevailed in three sets in a highly-entertaining first round match on Friday. O’Mara and Barnett are British wild cards who upset the No.5 seeds in their opening round.
Nicolas Mahut and Shuai Zhang (3) vs. Jack Sock and Coco Gauff – Three of the four players in this match advanced to the third round in singles. The outlier, Mahut, participated in one of the most famous matches in Wimbledon history, which went to 70-68 in the fifth, and also won the men’s doubles title here in 2016.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.
