Wimbledon - Round of 16 (Day 2) Predictions

Novak Djokovic takes on Holger Rune while Alexander Zverev butts heads with Taylor Fritz in the two most anticipated matchups of the day. Ace machine and dark horse Mpetshi Perricard continues his dream run against 25th seed Musetti, with top ten star De Minaur also in action.

Musetti vs Mpetshi Perricard

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard has taken the tennis world by storm this week. After winning his maiden title on the dusty clay of Lyon, he has transitioned to the grass courts seamlessly, becoming just the fifth lucky loser to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon ever. After being dumped out in the final round of qualifying by fellow compatriot Maxime Janvier, the Frenchman received a late entry into the main draw following the withdrawal of ever-mercurial Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. His first opponent would be Seb Korda. The American, who was knocked out of Wimbledon last year after his infamous claim that he was one of the tournament favourites, suffered the same fate again. The first four sets of this first-round encounter went to four enthralling tiebreaks, each split between the pair. But Perricard flourished in the deciding set, earning the sole break as Korda fumbled. The 6'8" giant next locked horns with Nishioka. But the Japanese was swatted aside in straight sets. In his third round against Tsitsipas-conqueror Emiil Ruusuvuori, Perricard was broken for the first time all week, dropping the opening set 6-4. But after grabbing the second set 6-2, the towering man closed out a tight tiebreaker in the third set before propelling himself towards the finish line in the fourth. The Frenchman is a serving machine, and his athleticism is leaps and bounds better than most "serve-bots". Although he has a one-handed backhand that tends to break down at times, his insane serve means that an upset is always on the cards - especially here at SW19.

Musetti has also been stretched the distance once at Wimbledon this year. After a bit of a scare in his first round, where he was down a set and a break to Constant Lestienne, the Italian recovered nicely to snag the second set in a tiebreak and close the match authoritatively from there. But his next match didn't get any easier. Up against another Italian rising star in Luciano Darderi, Musetti found himself down two sets to one before his experience shone through and he took the next two sets. After this hard-fought victory, he took on Comesana, the Argentinian qualifier who earned his first-ever tour-level win in only his second match on grass, stampeding through sixth seed Rublev in perhaps the upset of the year. Although Comesana's level dipped in his second round against Adam Walton, he hung tough to triumph 10-8 in the fifth set breaker. But this meant that the Argentine was running on fumes. In the Round of 32, Musetti won in four sets against an exhausted Comesana.

We were treated to this match just a few weeks ago in Stuttgart. It was decided by razor-thin margins, as Musetti ousted Perricard in twin tiebreaks that went to 11-9. I feel like this result will be similar. Although Perricard's monstrous first delivery will irk Musetti on the backhand return, this match will be decided by one or two points. I am giving Musetti's experience the edge here.

Prediction: Musetti in 5

De Minaur vs Fils

Alex de Minaur has had arguably the easiest route to the fourth round of any player this year. After Corentin Moutet's late withdrawal from the event, the Demon was slated against lucky loser James Duckworth. But Duckworth proved to be no pushover; with the Aussie always being a tricky player on the grass, this match was decided by a hat-trick of tiebreaks, all won by De Minaur and his more solid tennis. In Round 2, the Aussie met Jaume Munar. The Spaniard took care of British wildcard Billy Harris in his opener, who was enjoying a career-best grass season himself. But against Alex, his dearth of grass-court prowess and poor form showed as he was routed in three straightforward sets. In the third round, De Minaur's path to success got even more comfortable after a resurgent Lucas Pouille pulled out last minute with an abductor injury. The Frenchman got the better of Thanasi Kokkinakis in his second-round match, who withdrew after wounding his knee after a nasty slip. So for De Minaur, things are looking nice and cozy - but will his lack of any real competition hurt his chances against Fils?

Arthur Fils has done very well to reverse his fortunes in his horrid year so far. After only dropping a set against a dangerous grass-court lefty in Dominic Stricker, he played some of his best tennis of 2024 against Hubert Hurkacz. The Pole was one of the favourites to go all the way to the final given how well we played in his lead-up events and his general expertise and affinity for the surface. He had also been handed a relatively kind draw, with his only major obstacle being 7-time champ Novak Djokovic, who is struggling with a knee injury. But Fils played some explosive, front-foot tennis to take the racket out of Hubi's hands. But after the Frenchman captured the first two sets, the tables slowly but surely started to turn. Hurkacz sneaked the third set, and although he failed to serve out the fourth, took it to a tiebreaker in which he had set point at 8-7. But that was when it all fell apart. After a botched dropshot which Fils chased down with ease and nudged cross-court, the Pole attempted a heart-stopping dive which went all awry. He landed on his knee, causing severe damage to the area and barely being able to walk after that. This was at 7-7, and although he ended up winning the point, could only limp to retirement on match point. Just like that, one of the biggest threats for the title was eliminated. Arthur endured another 5-setter in the Round of 32 against last year's quarterfinalist Roman Safiullin. The Russian came back from two-sets-to-love down in his opener against 26th seed Cerundolo before dismissing another quality player in Tomas Machac. But Fils showed great determination to clinch the victory after trailing by two sets to one.

In this match, I think the Aussie's grass-court skills will dissect Fils and his dynamic nature of play. These two faced off on the clay courts of Barcelona, which Fils won comfortably; however, that was De Minaur's least favourite surface. Now, with the newfound aggression the Demon has found on his groundstrokes and his mindblowing defence, he will extract errors from Arthur's racket.

Prediction: De Minaur in 4

Zverev vs Fritz

What a titanic battle we have on our hands here. Two elite servers will face off for the third time at Wimbledon after wins for Sascha in 2018 and 2021. Both of these men have been in scintillating form so far at the Championships. After dismantling clay-court specialist Carballes Baena in Round 1, Zverev came upon a potentially tricky customer in Marcos Giron. The American had had a standout grass season, but was swept aside calmly by Zverev in three convincing sets. Next came British hero Cameron Norrie. The lefty was suffering one of his worst years on tour, and came into Wimbledon in abhorrent form. But he shocked everyone by taking out Jack Draper, one of the biggest dark horses of the tournament, in three tight sets. It looked like the Brit had renewed confidence under his belt; however, he was no match for Sascha. After a routine first set, Zverve took a scary fall in the second. He seemed to have injured his knee, but after a brief medical timeout and some tape application, looked just fine. The German broke again with a roar and closed out the second set. But Zverev became nervous as the finish line crept into sight. Heading into a third-set breaker, both men played cagey tennis. Ultimately, the fourth seed was the braver of the two, redirecting his forehand down the line with success while Norrie swiped tentatively at the ball. A few crucial errors later, Zverev finally mustered up the win in a jaw-dropping tiebreak scoreline of 17-15. Sascha is now only one of two men remaining in the draw to not drop a set - the other being Alex de Minaur. Although he has experienced struggles with the grass in the past, the German is looking to blast those shortcomings into oblivion; while his serve does the heavy lifting, he has also been striking his forehand with more purpose than usual this week.

Taylor Fritz has also enjoyed his time here at the All-England Club thoroughly. With a statement victory over grass-court specialist O'Connell in his opener, Fritz found his way through a drama-filled encounter against Arthur Rinderknech. The two opponents shared some words at the net, and Fritz even shared post-match that this animosity actually helped fuel him towards the win. In his third round, Taylor dismissed high-octane lefty Tabilo - who won the Mallorca Championships just a week ago - in straight sets again.

Both players have been serving excellently and striking the ball sweetly in 2024. Although Sascha leads the H2H 5-3, their last five meetings have been split evenly. This is purely a coin-flip match, but I will back Zverev to get the win. His serve is more damaging, and his groundstrokes - especially the backhand - just seem to have that little extra ferocity to them than Fritz's.

Prediction: Zverev in 5

Djokovic vs Rune

This is an extremely tantalising prospect. Aside from the US Open in 2021, where Rune was just breaking out, all of these two's previous meetings have gone the distance. From 2022 onwards, the H2H is even at 2-2. Djokovic and Rune always seem to bring the best out in each other. Novak Djokovic is still moving very hesitantly on the slippery, dewy lawns of the Championships this year. I don't blame him. The amount of injuries we've seen this year from slips has been staggering to say the least, and I don't remember when - and if - we ever saw this many. The defending finalist has been patchy this past week, dropping sets to British wildcard and World Number 270 Jacob Fearnley and Alexei Popyrin. Although his movement is limited, the second seed has let his racket do the talking, overwhelming his inexperienced opponents with his dizzyingly vast skillset en route to the Round of 16.

Holger Rune is continuing with the trend of giving his fans regular heart attacks. With a dazzling straight-set display against Kwon in his opening round and a similarly smooth match against Seyboth Wild, the Dane was in imperious form heading into the third round. But once again, he found himself trapped in a five-set tussle - but this time, he had lost the first two sets. Quentin Halys was playing some of the best tennis of his life, racing through the opening set 6-1 and just eking out a tight second set 7-6. Rune was all over the place, rushing points and spraying wild errors. Based on history, it looked like he would crumble. But for the first time in his nascent career, the 15th seed mounted a monumental comeback from two sets to love down, winning the final set 6-1 to complete his stunning recovery. This is an impressive feat, no doubt; but the Dane has a bit of a habit of getting into five-set matches early on in Slams, only for his fitness to wane later on. Will it hold up against the 7-time champion?

As always, I am counting on Holger to bring his best tennis to the biggest of matches against the toughest of opponents. The youngster has an all-court game, and his aimless net-rushing and ball-slapping - although largely ineffective during the clay season - has actually worked out on the grass. But Novak is no doubt the more polished of the two. Worryingly for the Dane, both of his wins against Djokovic have been on the slowness of Paris and Rome. Their last meeting, which was incidentally on the ultra-fast hard courts of Turin, was won by the older man. Even though Rune will try and test the World Number 2's movement by running him around, I feel like Novak will outlast him. We have seen plenty of fitness issues from Holger in the past, and it will be hard for him to recover from his marathon against Halys. Expect Djokovic and his refined arsenal to shine through in the end.

Prediction: Djokovic in 5