Wimbledon 2015: Predictions for Thursday's Draw Schedule
Top stars aren't exactly dropping like flies in the opening three days of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, but that's not to say they have all stayed safe. The likelihood of upsets increases by the day, which brings us to Thursday's slate.
Half of the draw has already punched their tickets into Round 3, with dozens more aiming to join the group of contenders entering the tournament's first weekend. Most of the world's best players are yet to see a seeded opponent come up on their draw, but they're slated to face up-and-comers looking to climb the ranks with a win on the sport's grand stage.
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Thursday is jam-packed with matchups featuring marquee names. Take a look below for the Day 4 schedule and predictions on the biggest matches.
2015 Wimbledon Predictions: Thursday, July 2
| No. 2 Roger Federer vs. Sam Querrey | Centre Court (2nd) | Federer |
| No. 10 Rafael Nadal vs. Dustin Brown | Centre Court (3rd) | Nadal |
| No. 3 Andy Murray vs. Robin Haase | No. 1 Court (1st) | Murray |
| No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Albert Ramos-Vinolas | No. 1 Court (3rd) | Tsonga |
| No. 6 Tomas Berdych vs. Nicolas Mahut | No. 2 Court (3rd) | Berdych |
| No. 12 Gilles Simon vs. Blaz Kavcic | No. 3 Court (2nd) | Simon |
| No. 18 Gael Monfils vs. Adrian Mannarino | No. 3 Court (3rd) | Monfils |
| No. 2 Petra Kvitova vs. Kurumi Nara | No. 1 Court (2nd) | Kvitova |
| No. 8 Ekaterina Makarova vs. Magdalena Rybarikova | No. 3 Court (1st) | Makarova |
| No. 5 Caroline Wozniacki vs. Denisa Allertova | Court 12 (1st) | Wozniacki |
| No. 10 Angelique Kerber vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | Court 18 (1st) | Kerber |
| No. 18 Sabine Lisicki vs. Christina McHale | Centre Court (1st) | McHale |
| No. 13 Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Ajla Tomljanovic | No. 2 Court (2nd) | Radwanska |
| No. 15 Timea Bacsinszky vs. Silvia Soler-Espinosa | Court 18 (2nd) | Bacsinszky |
Complete schedule at Wimbledon.com
No. 2 Roger Federer vs. Sam Querrey
Second-seeded Roger Federer will continue his quest for an 18th Grand Slam title Thursday against one of America's favorites in Sam Querrey.
For all of the 27-year-old's successes, including a straight-set win over Igor Sijsling in the first round, he's failed to contend with Federer. They have met twice in his career, once at a Grand Slam stage, and has failed to win a single set in the process.
Meanwhile, Federer is looking absolutely dominant in his early showing at Wimbledon. He dispatched Damir Dzumhur in a shocking time, as noted by ESPN's Kevin Neghandi:
Federer may have shown some weakness in his French Open defeat to Stan Wawrinka, but he's dazzled in virtually every other appearance in the last year. He's also advanced past the third round in all but one of his last 48 major appearances.
It would take dominant talent and a very in-form opponent to take down Federer this early in the tournament, and that's not Querrey.
Prediction: Federer wins, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 Andy Murray vs. Robin Haase
Andy Murray will hope the same troubles that plagued him and nearly caused a U.S. Open flameout at last year's tournament won't crop up again when he faces Robin Haase in second-round play Thursday.
When they met in the first round of the U.S. Open last year, Murray looked to be in control after taking the opening two sets. But he succumbed to painful cramping in the third set, dropping it 1-6 and allowing Haase to creep back in.
Of course, he would go on to win the match in four sets and overcome the cramping. But with record heat hitting Wimbledon in the recent days, one would think that a taxing match could have the same effect.
Haase has only beaten Murray once in his career, and it came way back in 2008. But he takes confidence from that into this one, as he told Alan Pattullo of the Scotsman:
"“Maybe it was a long time ago, but, still, I beat him. Andy is one of the best players in the world. To play him anywhere is difficult, but then in his home tournament on grass, it’s gonna be even more difficult. I will try to find a weakness. I have proved I can beat him once.”
"
He may have beaten Murray once in his career, but that was a much different Murray than the player we see in today's game. The 28-year-old has taken his game to another level in the last couple of years, becoming arguably the sport's best return man in the process.
Having never made it out of the third round in any Grand Slam event in his career, Haase won't have the championship grit it will take to trouble Murray.
Prediction: Murray wins, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6
No. 2 Petra Kvitova vs. Kurumi Nara
Petra Kvitova will continue her efforts in attempting to repeat at the Wimbledon Championships on Thursday, facing Kurumi Nara in a second-round clash.
Nara is a smaller opponent at just 5'1", but can pack a punch with surprising power and quick movement across the baseline. She's also never advanced past the third round at any Grand Slam, and has failed to make it out of Round 2 at Wimbledon in two career opportunities.
What's more, in none of those matches did she face an opponent who is peaking like Kvitova. She didn't lose a single first-serve point in her opening match, which she attributed to strong service as Wimbledon noted:
The two have never met in their careers, which should play to the advantage of Kvitova much more so than the big underdog. Nara will be able to steal a few games with her underrated game, but not enough to make Kvitova seriously sweat.
Prediction: Kvitova wins, 6-4, 6-4
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