Day 3 at The Championships sees the beginning of second round singles play, as well as the beginning of both men’s and women’s doubles play.  And a number of first round singles matches are also still to be completed due to rain on Tuesday.

Five years ago, Matteo Berrettini quickly rose throughthe tennis ranks and became Italy’s best player.  He is a three-time Major semifinalist, and even advanced to the championship match at the 2021 edition of The Championships.  But injuries have derailed his career the past two seasons, and in his absence, Jannik Sinner made his own surge, surpassing Berrettini’s achievements.  Across the past 12 months, Sinner has clearly been the best male singles player in the world, and won his first Major six months ago in Melbourne.  On Wednesday, Italy’s best will meet in a blockbuster second round matchup on Centre Court.

Also on Day 3, a pair of Major champions fighting to rediscover their top form after long absences, Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu, play a pair of seeded players having breakout seasons in 2024: Emma Navarro and Linda Noskova, respectively.  Plus, two of the sport’s most popular elder statesmen, Stan Wawrinka and Gael Monfils, will face off in the second round. 

Other second round singles action on Wednesday includes Major champions Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Coco Gauff, and Emma Raducanu.

Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule.  Wednesday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.

Bianca Andreescu vs. Linda Noskova (26) – Second on Court 18

This is just the fourth tournament since last August for the perpetually-injured Andreescu.  The latest setback for the 2019 US Open champ was a back injury.  However, she has quickly rounded back into some impressive form.  Bianca won two rounds of her first event back at Roland Garros, then advanced to the final of ‘s-Hertogenbosch on grass, after defeating Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals.

19-year-old Noskova’s breakout moment took place six months ago in Melbourne, where she upset World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the third round.  However, Linda has struggled mightily since that quarterfinal run, as she hasn’t won back-to-back matches since February.   

Both players won their opening rounds in straights, so they’ll be fresh for their first career meeting.  And despite missing most of the past year, I favor Andreescu on Wednesday, as she’s won more matches within just the past six weeks than Noskova has within the last three months.

Naomi Osaka (WC) vs. Emma Navarro (19) – Second on Centre Court

Osaka is now 16-12 since returning from maternity leave at the beginning of the year.  And while a big result is yet to come, she’s been right on the verge of one, especially in Paris where she was just one point away from upsetting eventual champion Iga Swiatek.  On Monday, Naomi earned her first victory at Wimbledon since 2019, in a three-setter against Diane Parry of France.

Navarro got off to an excellent start in 2024, going 20-7 between January and March, and winning a title in Hobart.  That came on the heels of winning 64 matches at all levels in 2023.  Her results have simmered a bit the last few months, though she did achieve a semifinal just last week on grass in Bad Homburg.  Emma dropped only two games in the first round against Qiang Wang of China.

In another first-time meeting on the day, I give the edge to the power of Osaka.  While grass is not her strongest surface, Navarro is far from an expert on it either, having played just 11 tour-level matches on grass in her career. 

Stan Wawrinka vs. Gael Monfils – Third on No.2 Court

Wimbledon is by far the weakest Major in the long careers of both 39-year-old Wawrinka and 37-year-old Monfils.  And neither arrive at SW19 in strong form: Stan is just 4-8 this season at tour level, while Gael had lost six of his last nine matches before a semifinal run last week in Mallorca.  However, both are yearning for just a little bit more Grand Slam glory in the twilight of their storied careers.

On Monday, Wawrinka won in straight sets over a British wild card ranked 248^th in the world.  Monfils required four sets to prevail, but he faced much more considerable opposition in the 22^nd seed, Adrian Mannarino.  Stan is looking to reach the third round of The Championships for the second straight year, while Gael has not done so since 2018.

Their history dates all the way back to 2007, and they have split six prior encounters.  Based on the Frenchman’s grass court form this past week, I favor Monfils to claim this battle of veterans.  His speed remains a huge weapon, and will force Wawrinka to hit a lot of extra shots.  Plus, Stan is mostly lacking in confidence with so few wins in his recent past.

Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Matteo Berrettini – Third on Centre Court

Since the beginning of The Championships a year ago, Sinner is an astounding 71-8, with seven singles titles.  And that doesn’t include leading Italy to a Davis Cup crown at the end of last season.  It all started with achieving his first Major semifinal 12 months ago in London.  In the opening round on Monday, he overcame a tough first round draw, Yannick Hanfmann, in four sets.

Berrettini also prevailed in four sets in his opening round, against a tough draw of his own, former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Marton Fucsovics.  However, Matteo was treated during that match for a back issue.  Injuries continue to plague the career of the 28-year-old, as this is just his sixth tour-level event since suffering a bad ankle injury at last summer’s US Open.  He’s now 5-2 on grass on 2024.

Their only previous meeting occurred this past August in Canada, where Sinner won 6-4, 6-3.  Berrettini is the more accomplished grass court player, but he’ll need to serve a significantly high percentage of first serves to prevent the World No.1 from attacking with his penetrating return game.  And with Matteo light on matches and still not 100% healthy, Jannik is the favorite to advance.

Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:

Anca Todoni (Q) vs. Coco Gauff (2) – Gauff dropped just three games in the first round, at the only Major where she is yet to reach a quarterfinal in singles.  Todoni is a 19-year-old Romanian qualifier who on Monday won her first-ever match at a Major. 

Alexandre Muller vs. Daniil Medvedev (5) – Medvedev also won comfortably in his opening round, and has won his last 19 second round matches at Slams.  Muller’s victory on Monday was only the second of his career in the main draw of a grass court tournament.

Carlos Alcaraz (3) vs. Aleksandar Vukic – Alcaraz started his title defense with a straight-set win to open Centre Court play on Day 1.  By contrast, Vukic required a fifth-set tiebreak to get past Sebastian Ofner on an outer court.

Emma Raducanu (WC) vs. Elise Mertens – Raducanu is vying to reach the third round of a Major for the first time since her 2021 US Open title run, as she’s lost her last five matches in this round at this level.  Mertens once had an 18-match win streak in this round of Majors, and she’s advanced to the championship match of Wimbledon in women’s doubles the last three years.

Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.

Thousands of tennis fans watched Novak Djokovic return to action at Wimbledon on Tuesday but not many had as good of a view of the Serbian in action as Ronnie O’Sullivan. 

The snooker player was sitting in Djokovic’s player box on Center Court alongside his team. It might seem like a peculiar situation. However, the tennis star is a long-time fan of O’Sullivan. 

“I watch snooker just because of him. I watched him when I was a kid and I watched him play many years ago.” Djokovic told reporters following his first round win. 
“My father loved watching snooker. I only watched Ronnie. Whenever he would not play, I would not watch. We just had a meet-up, an interaction for the first time. It was great.”

The 48-year-old is regarded as one of the most high-profile figures in his sport. His accolades includes seven world championship titles. Overall, he has won 41 titles over 31 years (1993-2024).

“Hopefully we’re able to play some snooker ’cause I’m really bad at snooker. I’m okay at pool or billiard, but snooker, I tried it twice, and it’s really, really tough.” Djokovic joked.
“He’s a nice person, nice guy, and very funny.”

Djokovic, who is seeking a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title, is high in spirits following his straight-sets triumph over Vit Kopriva. Coming into the match concerns were raised about his fitness due to recent knee surgery. However, the 24-time major champion appeared to be in little trouble and moved about freely. 

“I didn’t know how I was going to feel on the court and how my knee was going to hold up. But I’m very happy with the way I felt, the way I played and the way I moved. For an opening match, I couldn’t ask for a better start.”

However, there is bad news for one of Djokovic’s long-time rivals. Earlier today, Andy Murray was forced to pull out of the singles draw after failing to regain full fitness. The former world No.1 recently underwent back surgery to help solve a problem affecting his right leg. He is still entered to play in the doubles draw. 

It is highly expected that 2024 will be Murray’s final appearance at Wimbledon after Brit indicated that this will be the case. However, Djokovic has warned against ruling him out for next year’s tournament. 

“Hopefully he can get another shot at next year’s Wimbledon with singles. Knowing him, he’s going to try to do that,” he commented.
“He has every right to say when it’s the finish line for him. If he wants to keep going, no doubt that people will be very happy about it.”

Defending champion Marketa Vondrousova admits nerves played a role in her surprise 6-4, 6-2, loss to Spanish world No.83 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro at Wimbledon on Tuesday. 

Returning to Center Court 12 months after she stunned Ons Jabeur in straight sets to claim the title, the error-stricken Czech was out of sorts against Manerio. Somebody who is a tricky opponent but hadn’t beaten a top 10 player on the Tour or won a main draw match at a Grand Slam before today. Vondrousova has now failed to win a match in two out of her three most recent appearances at major tournaments with the only exception being her run to the quarter-finals of the French Open. 

“It was a tough match. I think she played a great match. I wasn’t at my best.” She said of her latest performance.

It is the third time this year that Vondrousova has lost to somebody ranked outside the top 50 after Dayana Yastremska and Anhelina Kalinina. Coming into the event, she told reporters to expect ‘many surprises on the grass.’ Her preparation for Wimbledon was far from ideal after she suffered a nasty slip whilst playing in Berlin that forced her to withdraw from her match. 

“I think practice was fine but today I was a bit scared because of my leg, too. I don’t think this was the reason (for her loss).” She said. 
“It’s a tough feeling to go back (to Wimbledon as the defending champion).
“I feel like everybody just expects you to win. I was happy to be back on the Centre Court. It just didn’t go as planned today.”

The last woman to defend their title at SW19 was Serena Williams in 2016. Since then, there have been plenty of upsets in the women’s draw with the past seven editions being won by seven different players. A situation that some blame on the grass and the limited amount of time players have to play on the surface compared to others.

However, Vondrousova believes her biggest issue was nerves. 

“I was really nervous since the start. I couldn’t shake it off. I’m going to be back stronger, I hope.” She concluded. 

Vondrousova’s rapid exit from Wimbledon makes her the first women’s Wimbledon champion to lose in the first round the following year since Steffi Graf in 1994. She will leave the top 10 following the conclusion of this tournament. 

There are now two former Wimbledon champions left in the 2024 draw on the women’s side. Elena Rybakina won her first round match earlier today against Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse. Meanwhile, Angelique Kerber is yet to play.