Tennis
Tuesday’s Wimbledon treats: A clash of former number threes and a Czech on Court 1
The action at this year’s Wimbledon has finally started. The opening days of Grand Slam tournaments bring a large number of matches. There are some real treats among them. What three matches would be a great shame to miss from Tuesday’s tennis menu at the All England Club?
The action at this year’s Wimbledon has finally started. The opening days of Grand Slam tournaments bring a large number of matches. There are some real treats among them. What three matches would be a great shame to miss from Tuesday’s tennis menu at the All England Club?
The Madrid rematch
Dominic Thiem has been trying to get back to better performances for quite some time now. The 2020 US Open winner would like to play in the more advanced stages of the majors again. He played a great match with his opponent today, Greece’s Tsitsipas, at the end of April on the clay in Madrid.
The Greek won the third set tiebreak. However, he had only words of praise for his Austrian opponent. A breakthrough in the Austrian’s performance was expected. But in the next clay events Thiem did not follow up his good match against Tsitsipas. Will he threaten the Greek at Wimbledon?
The Greek tennis player will be the big favourite. Even he hasn’t shown Wimbledon-worthy form on grass yet. He has won only two of his six duels on grass this year. In any case, the clash of the former ATP number three is an expected start to today’s programme in London.
British Derby
Andy Murray didn’t end up clinching the seeded player position, but the draw wasn’t downright tricky for him. The two-time Wimbledon winner will be a big favourite in his duel against compatriot Peniston. The more experienced of the tennis players has recently conquered two grass-court challengers and is certainly not planning on finishing in the first round of Wimbledon.
Yet he just had to say goodbye to the tournament at the Queen’s Club in his opening match and Ryan Peniston will definitely not give him anything for free in this afternoon’s showdown on Centre Court. Still, the 27-year-old should not threaten the legendary Murray. He is looking to advance and face the winner of the Tsitsipas-Thiem match.
Machac on Court 1
Tomas Machac is looking forward to his Wimbledon debut. He has successfully qualified here and will play Cameron Norrie on court 1 in the evening.
The 22-year-old will have nothing to lose in the match, but he has a lot to build on. He played an evenly matched match against Djokovic in February, falling to him in Dubai in a shortened third set. He played a good match against Casper Ruud at the Australian Open.
He went far in several challengers. He managed to win the one in Prostejov. Now he’s just hours away from another big match, even if it is a first round match. Making your Wimbledon debut is an unforgettable experience for most tennis players.
Norrie is the number twelve seeded player and has already proved his quality at the All England Club. He reached the semi-finals last year. The native of Johannesburg, South Africa, has recorded only one defeat on grass this year. He failed in the quarterfinals of the Queen’s Club against Korda.
It will certainly be interesting to see what the Beroun native does against him.
Source: ATP, Wimbledon