2015 Wimbledon: Second Round Review and Third Round Preview

2nd Round Upsets:
Men's
(WC) Denis Kudla d. Alexander Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4
Fernando Verdasco d. (32) Dominic Thiem 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
(WC) James Ward d. Jiri Vesely 6-2, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3
Vasek Pospisil d. (30) Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
(Q) Dustin Brown d. (10) Rafael Nadal 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
(Q) Nikoloz Basilashvili d. (15) Feliciano Lopez 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4

Women's
Aleksandra Krunic d. (19) Sara Errani 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2
(Q) Bethanie Mattek-Sands d. (7) Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-4
Coco Vandeweghe d. (11) Karolina Pliskova 7-6(5), 6-4
Kristyna Pliskova d. (26) Svetlana Kuzetsova 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Magdalena Rybarikova d. (8) Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 7-5
(Q) Olga Govortsova d. (25) Alize Cornet 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-1
Casey Dellacqua d. (17) Elina Svitolina 7-6(3), 6-3

Matches to Watch/Upset Alert:
Men's
(24) Leonardo Mayer vs. (14) Kevin Anderson
Mayer reached his current and career high ranking (21) two weeks ago and is playing some of the best tennis of his career. Like Anderson, Mayer reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon last year.
Anderson is coming off a loss to Andy Murray in the finals of Queens two weeks ago and looks to be in solid form moving forward. This matchup will come down to Anderson's vicious serves. If he's on, Mayer won't stand a chance. If he's just a bit off, it will be a toss up.
I expect Anderson to win in four sets.

(9) Marin Cilic vs. (17) John Isner
Along with Milos Raonic, Isner has the deadliest serve in the game today. Trying to return against it gives in the top players headaches. Having said that, it's surprising not to see Isner not doing better at SW19 in his career. His best results have been the third round in each of the past two years, with him looking to move forward to the round of 16 for the first time.

As Cilic showed at the 2014 U.S. Open, when he's on, he's tough to beat. He beat Roger Federer like a drum in the semifinal, which is a feat in of itself. Cilic's coach, Goran Ivanisevic, deserves a lot of credit for tweaking his serve and guiding him to the first major title in his career. Unfortunately for him, Cilic is far from the form he showed last September.

What makes the matchup so interesting is the big time serving from both players along with Isner's poor return. Honestly, I'd be shocked to see one break of serve in this match. Expect to see tiebreakers in each set. This match will be close, but given Cilic's poor form this year, I like the "Marathon Man" to pull off the upset and advance in four.

(4) Stan Wawrinka vs. Fernando Verdasco
Verdasco seems to be the type of player who thrives when the odds are against him. A good, hard serve and powerful groundstrokes will help him on grass.

Wawrinka came up with the goods in a huge upset in the final over (1) Novak Djokovic last month at the French Open. Stan's best result at Wimbledon was a quarterfinal appearance last year.

Both players are inconsistent, but Stan has taken his game to another level two years ago. It will be interesting to see if Verdasco can answer the call again after surviving Thiem in five sets. Will he have enough in the tank at this stage in his career? Wawrinka should win, but it will be four very close sets.

Marcos Baghdatis vs. (16) David Goffin
Baghdatis is not at his 2006 level which saw him reach the final of the Australian Open and the semifinal at Wimbledon. In fact, his best result since that run at Wimbledon in 2006, was a quarterfinal appearance at the same venue in 2007.

Goffin,the ATP's reigning "Comeback Player of the Year" in 2014, has done a tremendous job of moving up the ranking in the past 18 months. He won his first career singles titles last year, but lost in the final of a tune-up event in s'Hertgenbosch to Nicolas Mahut.

Baghdatis came back from two sets down against (Q) John Millman. Like Verdasco, how much will he have left in the tank for Goffin?

(11) Grigor Dimitrov vs. (21) Richard Gasquet
Both guys are in lousy form this year. I mentioned Dimitrov's fall in my post two days ago. Gasquet finished the year in the top 10 and reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open in 2013, but has been in poor form since. Both players have a couple of things in common: both have one-handed backhands and both are semifinalists (Dimitrov, 2014 and Gasquet, 2007). Neither guy has played well this year, but who will play the best in three out five sets?

(26) Nick Kyrgios vs. (7) Milos Raonic
This battle of the young guns is a rematch from last year's quarterfinal in which Raonic won in four sets. Expect to see a lot of aces with these two huge servers, but the key will be their groundstrokes. Which player will be more consistent with the backhands and forehands? Kyrgios loves to put on a show for the crowd, but will he be able to keep his focus and not go for too much?

Also, Raonic has dropped a set in his first two matches. Will he have enough match play under his belt for the dangerous Aussie?

Kyrgios pulled off a shocker to stun Rafael Nadal at SW19 last year. Does he have it in him again to beat another top ten player and avenge last year's defeat?

(WC) James Ward vs. Vasek Posipisil
This is one of the surprise matches at Wimbledon. First, (8) David Ferrer pulled out of the tournament at the last minute with an elbow injury. Instead of facing Ferrer, Ward draws (LL) Luca Vanni in the opening round.

Meanwhile, Pospisil pulled off the upset of Fognini in the second round.

Ward has the home crowd behind him. How does he handle the pressure in a match to determine a spot in the round of 16?

(22) Viktor Troicki vs. (Q) Dustin Brown
Brown pulled off a shocker in a list of four straight players ranked outside the top 100 to beat Nadal at the last four Wimbledon Championships. In each case, the player proceeded to lose the following match in the next round. This could be called the "Curse of Beating Rafa at Wimbledon". In 2012, Rosol lost to Philip Kohlschreiber in the third round after a win over Nadal. In 2013, Darcis lost via walkover to Lukasz Kubot. In 2014, Kyrgios lost in the quarterfinals to Milos Raonic. Can Brown buck this trend?

Brown swung for the fences against Rafa, and hit the ball out of the park. What kind of pressure will he feel against Troicki? People will say if he can beat Nadal, surely he can beat Troicki. Maybe, maybe not.

Troicki is probably happy to not run into Rafa again after falling to him in the final of the Mercedes Cup a few weeks ago. He will be favored in this matchup, but how will his nerves hold up now that he's expected to win.

If Brown plays anywhere near the level he played against Nadal, he will win. However, in every other case of players who've beaten Nadal, they couldn't maintain that level.

(13) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. (23) Ivo Karlovic
Both players have dodged bullets thus far at Wimbledon. Tsonga held off Gilles Muller in five sets in the first round, while Karlovic edged out Dolgopolov in five sets in the second round.

Karlovic has a better serve, but Tsonga is a better overall player. Which Tsonga shows up in this match? If he bring his "A" game, he will win in straight sets. If he brings his "B" game, he should win in four or five. If he brings his "C" game--all bets are off.

(18) Gael Monfils vs. (12) Gilles Simon
After beating Adrian Mannarino in the second round, this match will be the battle of Frenchmen part two for Monfils.

Neither player has played particularly well on grass in their careers, although both have had their moments. Monfils is looking to reach the round of 16 for the first time in his career at Wimbledon? This is his five trip to the third round.

Simon made the round of 16 in 2009, but hasn't been back since.

Something has to give in this match, and it should be fun to watch.

(20) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (Q) Nikoloz Basilashvili
Basilashvili pulled off a huge upset over the favored Lopez in the second round, and is looking to eliminate a Spaniard for the second consecutive round.

Bautista Agut came back from two sets down over Benoit Paire in the second round.

Lopez is a better grass court player than Bautista Agut, and I expect another upset.

Women's
(30) Belinda Bencic vs. (Q) Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Mattek-Sands defeated surprise French Open quarterfinalist Alison Van Uyvanck in the first round and (7) Ana Ivanovic in the second round. Doubles success with Lucie Safarova, with whom she's won the doubles title at the Australian and French Open this year, looks like it's rubbing off for Mattek-Sands.

Bencic won her first career title in the tune-up event in Eastbourne and collected wins over Madison Keys, Caroline Wozniacki, and Agnieszka Radwanska en route to the title.

Which will win out--youth or experience?

Coco Vandeweghe vs. (22) Sam Stosur
Grass is definitely Stosur's weakest surface. This is only Stosur's third trip to the third round in her career.

Vandeweghe's hard serve and her big win over Ivanovic should make a difference in this upset.

Sloane Stephens vs. (6) Lucie Safarova
Stephens showed a lot of promise with surprising run to the semifinals at the Australian Open in 2013. She climbed as high as 11 in the WTA rankings, but like Bouchard, hit a major rough patch. She's currently getting back on track, but is facing an in-form Safarova, who's playing the best tennis of her life.

Safarova proved last year's run at the semifinals of Wimbledon was no fluke by reaching the final of Roland Garros this year.

(20) Garbine Muguruza vs. (10) Angelique Kerber
Muguruza is considered one of the rising stars of the WTA, but how will she fare against Kerber, who's won three titles (including the grass court final in Birminghamm) this year?

Kerber has the experience, but how will she handle the expectations against Muguruza, who doesn't have anything to lose.

(15) Timea Baczinsky vs. (18) Sabine Lisicki
Baczinsky has been one of the hottest players on the WTA tour this year. She's won titles in Acapulco and Monterrey earlier in the year, reached the semifinals of the French Open, and is currently ranked a career high 15 in the world.

Lisicki is considered one of the best grass court players on the WTA tour. Her track record speaks for itself. Her aggressive serve and groundstrokes fits very well with the grass court. However, if she's going to win, she's going to do it the hard way. This feels like a match that will go deep into a third set.