Wimbledon 2016: Saturday Schedule and Predictions for London Bracket
Defending Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic will have the chance to recover from a two-set deficit against Sam Querrey on Saturday, as the persistent London rains saved him on Friday.
The Serb will take to the No. 1 Court to start the day, as the match between Simona Halep and Kiki Bertens has been selected to start proceedings on Centre Court, ahead of Andy Murray's clash with John Millman.
Jack Sock and Milos Raonic will also be in action on Centre Court, while Kei Nishikori will play Andrey Kuznetsov on Court No. 3. Here's a look at the schedule for Saturday, via Wimbledon's official Twitter account:
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To access the full schedule for all courts, as well as the complete bracket, visit the event's official website.
Predictions
Djokovic to Stay on Calendar Slam Course
To say Querrey's two-set lead over Djokovic heading into Saturday's slate of matches is a surprise would be an understatement. As shared by ESPN Stats & Info, the world No. 1 and defending Wimbledon champion hadn't dropped a set to an American in a Grand Slam in years:
Querrey has made the last 16 at Wimbledon just once in eight tries, but he played some fantastic, carefree tennis on Friday and took full advantage of Djokovic's many mistakes. His serve in particular did plenty of damage, negating Djokovic's superb ability in the return game.
Djokovic has been here before, however. Just last year, he lost the first two sets against Kevin Anderson, a similar grass specialist, before bouncing back and surviving a rain delay to advance.
The Serb has the uncanny ability to elevate his game when he needs to the most, and the rain delay couldn't have come at a better time, as he was playing some of the worst tennis he has played in years by the end of the second set.
Querrey has long been touted as one of the sport's most physically dominant players and even ranked inside the top 20 at one point, but the mental aspect of the game has always been his downfall.
Overnight, the pressure of being up by two sets against the world's best, a man looking to win every Grand Slam this year, will be tough to deal with, and don't be shocked if he can't reach the same heights on Saturday.
Andy Murray to Cruise Against John Millman
Former champion Murray finds himself on a very favourable side of the bracket, as the top-seeded player he could possibly face ahead of the final is Richard Gasquet, the seventh seed. The Scot has appeared cool and relaxed all week long, even if his second-round win over Lu Yen-hsun didn't always go as smoothly as hoped.
As reported by the Guardian's Kevin Mitchell, he took some time out of his schedule to talk to reporters ahead of the match―not about tennis, but social media and having famous people in the crowd:
"It is tempting [to go on] because that is the kind of world we live in now. Social media, everyone is on it. It is huge. But there is a time and a place for it. I think when you have lost a difficult match it is best to stay away.
I don’t read [notifications] any time I am around major competitions. I have only been on Twitter, I think, once in the last three months, and that was after Marcus Willis’s match, because it was just such a great story and amazing to see that.
[…] Who would I like to come and watch me the most? I don’t know – it is difficult, I don’t really know – but any time any of the big names come along to watch it is nice and I have got to meet a few of them over the years.
"
All of this is great news ahead of his match against Millman, who has been steadily rising up the ranks since 2014. Millman is a durable opponent who will play solid defence and hold his own in the rallies, without overpowering his favoured opponent.
Wins over Albert Montanes and Benoit Paire have brought him to the third round, but he showed his limitations in the first match, struggling to deal with Montanes' solid return game until the Spaniard lost momentum.
Like Lu, he should provide Murray with a challenge at some points of the match but shouldn't come close to nicking a set or pulling off the upset.
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