Wimbledon 2016 third round tips: Five each for Friday’s men’s and ladies’ third round
Jamie Clark, Sports Editor | June 30, 2016
More rain delays have had an impact on both the Wimbledon men’s and women’s singles draws, but round three of both should go ahead on Friday.
The ladies have lost second seed and French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, which means WTA world number one Serena Williams has been shortened into a 5/4 favourite with Coral to retain her grass Grand Slam title.
Our tennis tipsters have put their heads together and come up with five tips apiece for both sexes for your delectation…
2016 Wimbledon men’s singles
- Third round (top half)
- Friday, July 1st
- Scheduled on court: 11:30 BST
- All England Club, Wimbledon, southwest London
- Live across the BBC
Djokovic wins Querrey first set 6-3
ATP world number one and Wimbledon men’s singles outright favourite Djokovic has beaten third round foe Sam Querrey of the USA in straight sets in two other Grand Slams at this stage.
Both of those victories saw deadly Serbian racket star Djokovic take the opener 6-3, and a terrific 3/1 price says he shall record that precise scoreline to establish an anticipated early lead once more.
Rampant Raonic slays Sock in straight sets
Recent Queen’s runner-up Milos Raonic is seeded sixth at Wimbledon 2016 and once again faces American Jack Sock. They have met at the All England Club once before two years ago, and the Montenegrin-born Canadian representative looks good to repeat that straight sets victory.
Grass courts really suit the big-serving Raonic, who should make the business end of things and is an 11/10 chance to send Sock home off the back of another 3-0 defeat.
Nishikori nets second set 6-3 in Kuznetsov clash
Men’s fifth seed Kei Nishikori holds the hope of a nation in the palm of his hands with tennis mad Japanese viewers watching from the other side of the world.
He clashes with Andrey Kuznetsov, having recently knocked the Russian out of the French Open. Nishikori won all three sets 6-3, and that makes 4/1 odds for the second to be that result well worth investing in.
Federer to take 2-0 lead in Evans opener
Great Britain’s Dan Evans faces the daunting task of playing all-time Grand Slam great Roger Federer in the third round.
This surely has only one outright result with ageing Swiss superstar Federer to smash the home hope, yet there is rare value in the number three seed leading 2-0 after two games of the first set at 12/5.
Dimitrov defeats Johnson without dropping a set
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov is among the most dangerous unseeded players in the Wimbledon men’s singles draw. He beat last 32 opponent Steve Johnson of the USA a round earlier at this event 12 months ago in straight sets.
Dimitrov is a tasty 10/3 to repeat a 3-0 result against the American and progress to the second week in SW19 for the second time in a couple of years.
2016 Wimbledon ladies’ singles
- Third round (bottom half)
- Friday, July 1st
- Scheduled on court: 11:30 BST
- All England Club, Wimbledon, southwest London
- Live across the BBC
Halep and Bertens battle to go the distance
One of the highlights of the Wimbledon 2016 ladies’ singles draw is a mouthwatering clash between consistent WTA Tour performer Simona Halep and recent French Open semi-finalist Kiki Bertens.
Romanian tennis’ top export Halep hasn’t been in the best of form at the big events, yet retains a high seeding of 5th among the women. With Bertens doing brilliantly, a 5/4 price for their third-ever match to go over 2.5 sets is crying out to be taken.
Cornet v Keys contains a tiebreak
Number nine seed Alison Keys has had real trouble when facing French entrant Alize Cornet in the past, and their 2014 Fed Cup play-offs encounter contained two tiebreaks.
Bearing that in mind, a superb 7/2 price says there will be another set that goes all the way between the two and the head-to-head history reads one win apiece.
Kerber leads Witthoft opener 4-0 after as many games
Reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber whitewashed compatriot Carina Witthoft at Wimbledon 12 months ago, and there is more than 100 places between the two Germans in the WTA world rankings.
Bearing that in mind, a superb 7/2 price says fourth seed Kerber will lead the first set 4-0 after as many games once again.
Kasatkina beats Venus Williams
Russia’s Daria Kasatkina beat ladies’ eighth seed and veteran Venus Williams at the start of this year, and the latter has struggled at Wimbledon so far.
A 7/4 price says Kasatkina can replicate that victory from Auckland, New Zealand at the grass Grand Slam.
Three-set victory for Suarez Navarro over Erakovic
Number 12 seed Carla Suarez Navarro has won both of her Wimbledon outings this week so far in three sets, so it is well worth considering her to progress past Australian qualifier Marina Erakovic by that result.
Awesome odds of 11/4 say Suarez Navarro will win 2-1 again and set up a fourth round fixture with one of the above women.
Related
You’ll find comprehensive coverage of both the Wimbledon men’s and ladies’ singles throughout the championships on the Coral tennis page.
