Ricky’s Tennis Picks For Day 2 At Wimbledon, Including Thiem vs. Querrey And Kyrgios vs. Thompson

By Ricky Dimon

 

First-round action continues at Wimbledon on Tuesday, with Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios on an immediate collision course. Kyrgios has to get past Jordan Thompson in his opener, however, before getting a shot at Nadal. Dominic Thiem and Fabio Fognini are also taking the court.

 

Ricky previews some of best matchups and makes his predictions.

 

(5) Dominic Thiem vs. Sam Querrey

I feel like either Querrey will pull off an upset in a thriller or Thiem will absolutely cruise. There’s no in between. I wouldn’t be completely shocked by the former, but I would be less surprised by the latter. It is true that Querrey is a borderline Wimbledon specialist who finally has some momentum with his runner-up performance in Eastbourne, while grass is Thiem’s worst surface.

But the big-serving American got manhandled by Taylor Fritz on Saturday and he isn’t the same player he was in 2016 and 2017. There is also no doubt in my mind that Thiem can be among the world’s best on all surfaces.

Pick: Thiem in 3

 

Nick Kyrgios vs. Jordan Thompson

If the reward was not a likely second-round date with Nadal (or with some other top player), Thompson probably wouldn’t mind a matchup against his fellow Aussie. After all, Kyrgios is 2-5 in his last seven matches overall with a 1-2 record on grass–even though it is arguably his favorite surface. But because Nadal looms on the immediate horizon, Kyrgios will undoubtedly be inspired.

Thompson is a stellar 21-13 this year, including an 8-3 record in his last 11 matches (6-2 on grass). He finished runner-up to Adrian Mannarino in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and is coming off a semifinal showing in Antalya. This is a winnable match for Thompson if his opponent for some reason lacks motivation, but this outcome will be dictated entirely by Kyrgios.

Pick: Kyrgios in 3

 

Frances Tiafoe vs. (12) Fabio Fognini

This is one of those matchups in which basically everyone in the tennis world is going to make the same call. In this case, Fognini in four sets. It’s not going to be a rout; Tiafoe is too talented and Fognini won’t stay focused the entire way. But there is also little chance of an upset. The Italian is even more talented, is far more experienced, and is in the midst of an outstanding year.

Fognini won their only previous encounter 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 1-6, 6-0 at the 2017 French Open. I don’t think this one will be quite as wild.

Pick: Fognini in 4

 

(13) Marin Cilic vs. Adrian Mannarino

As if Cilic didn’t have it bad enough already, the draw ceremony pit him against probably the No. 1 unseeded floater that no seeded player wanted to face in the opening round. Not on grass, at least. Mannarino is an absolute savant on on the green stuff but has never made tons of noise at Wimbledon due to bad draws. But the under-appreciated Frenchman captured his first career title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch earlier this month.

Cilic, on the other hand, is a dreadful 10-9 in 2019 and has plunged to 18th in the rankings. He just isn’t the same guy who once won the U.S. Open and finished runner-up in SW19. Sound the upset alert!

Pick: Mannarino in 5

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.