Wimbledon 2015: Predictions for Top Stars in Saturday's Singles Draw

Most tennis Grand Slams don't see serious drama until the tournament's second week, but Wimbledon has already seen four top-10 seeds stunningly bounced.  Even undisputed ladies' favorite Serena Williams dropped a set Friday, highlighting the volatility that has defined the tournament's first week.

Still, Serena and most of the other top seeds have avoided disaster thus far.  With the traditional Sunday mid-tournament break arriving, Saturday's conclusion to the third round should effectively weed out most of the undercards before the main events begin in the round of 16 on Monday.

Before we get there, though, let's take a look at the top players in action at the end of the first week, analyzing how their games have taken shape over the first two rounds and dissecting the possibility of a third-round upset.

Matchup	Prediction
Centre Court - Session begins at 8 a.m. ET
Roger Federer (SUI) [2) vs. Sam Groth (AUS)	Federer
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) [28] vs. Petra Kvitova (CZE) [2]	Kvitova
Andy Murray (GB) [3] vs. Andreas Seppi (ITA) [25]	Murray
No. 1 Court - Session begins at 8 a.m. ET
Caroline Wozniacki (CZE) [5] vs. Camila Giorgi (ITA) [31]	Giorgi
James Ward (GB) vs. Vasek Pospisil (CAN)	Ward
Gael Monfils (FRA) [18] vs. Gilles Simon (FRA) [12]	Simon

Saturday's Top Matches

Murray (3) vs. Seppi (25)

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

The hometown favorite no longer shoulders the immense pressure he did before winning Wimbledon two years ago, but all eyes will remain on Murray as long as he's a title contender.  The last time Murray failed to reach at least the quarterfinals here was 2007, so a loss to the veteran Seppi seems like the longest of shots.

The 31-year-old Italian is no pushover on grass, however.  Two weeks ago, Seppi fared extremely well in the Gerry Weber Open in Germany, defeating the likes of Kei Nishikori and Gael Monfils before falling to Roger Federer in the finals.  Though his singles record is a relatively lackluster 13-10 this season, Seppi did also reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open.

Of course, he's also lost his past six matches to Murray, with his lone win against the Brit coming in 2006.  Murray is coming off a pair of breezy straight=set wins on the heels of a dominant showing at the Aegon Championships, his annual Wimbledon tune-up.  Murray won that event and dropped just one set in five matches along the way.

Looking ahead, Murray caught a huge break with Dustin Brown's upset of Nadal, as the highest seed he can face before the semis is No. 12 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  For now, Murray should continue to fine tune his game ahead of likely final-four matchups against Federer and/or Novak Djokovic.

Prediction: Murray wins, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2

Wozniacki (5) vs. Giorgi (31)

Elsa/Getty Images

If you're looking for a possible upset, the fifth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki on the women's side appears particularly vulnerable against Italian sleeper Camila Giorgi.  Wozniacki has yet to drop a set in the first two rounds (though she went to an 8-6 tiebreaker against Denisa Allertova last round), but the recent histories of both players suggest an upset in the making.

For one, Giorgi has won two of the three head-to-head meetings, each of which have come in the past two years.  Wozniacki's lone win did come on grass, but Giorgi also won the most recent meeting at New Haven last August.  And unlike Wozniacki, the 23-year-old has won on grass this year, capturing the Topshelf Open in early June.

Moreover, Wimbledon has always been Wozniacki's worst major.  It's the only Grand Slam where she hasn't advanced past the fourth round; in fact, Wozniacki has made it past Round 4 just once in her past 13 major appearances.  Giorgi is much more inexperienced in Grand Slams, but Wimbledon is also the major she's played most often and the only one where she currently possesses a winning record.

The winner of this match could be an even-money proposition against grass-court ace Angelique Kerber, who has reached the quarters and semis in two of the past three Wimbledons.  The quarter in general is wide open after No. 3 seed Simona Halep's first-round exit, providing a golden opportunity for the winner of this match to make a deep run.

Prediction: Giorgi wins, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3

Monfils (18) vs. Simon (12) 

Claude Paris/Associated Press

Two of the four remaining Frenchmen in the tourney will meet in what figures to be Saturday's closest contest in the gentlemen's draw.  Gilles Simon has won five of six career matchups against Gael Monfils, including a hard-court win in the final at Marseille this season.  However, just one of those victories has come in straight sets, indicating a likely four- or five-setter to conclude the tournament's first week.

Monfils has played well this season, accruing a 22-9 singles record, but has yet to win on tour.  Apart from his finals loss to Simon, Monfils also has four semifinal losses, including a pair of upsets at the hands of Andreas Seppi and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.  Despite a series of deep runs at several Grand Slams, however, Monfils has actually never made it to the second week of Wimbledon, by far his worst major.

Simon doesn't have the same Grand Slam pedigree as his countryman, having made it past the fourth round just once (he reached the quarterfinals at the 2009 Australian Open).  The 30-year-old has been fairly consistent on tour this season, though, having won at least two matches in each of his past four tournaments.

To add to the intrigue, none of their head-to-head meetings have ever come on grass.  But based on previous pedigree, the one likelihood we do have is that this match will probably not end in straight sets.

Prediction: Simon wins, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4