The picks: 2024 Wimbledon, third round: Gauff vs. Navarro

Coco Gauff
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Coco Gauff vs. Emma Navarro

The so-called “news” is playing very well, as Navarro has gone somewhat deep throughout the events, and now she is ranked No. 17, pretty good. However at the start of the year, in the Auckland, New Zealand, she lost against Gauff 6-3, 6-1, in the semis. Cleary, the huge hitter Gauff is the favorite. Or maybe not.  Navarro just edged  Diana Shnaider 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, who she lost against her last weeks. Now she must be out of the moon. “In this sport you deal with a lot of emotions,” she said. “It’s high stress at times. So it’s something that obviously I have to deal with, but I would say that calmness, I’ve always had.”

On the court, on Sunday, she is going to have to link  to try to nail it, crosscourt . The former U.S. Open champion Gauff can crush her backhand, and she can also put it away at the net. However, while she has gone deep in 2024, but she has only won one tournament. Now she needs to try it again, and perhaps, to be rehabilitant. Gauff will win it in three, tremendous sets.

Jannik Sinner vs Ben Shelton

The American won another five setter, so when it is very deep, he really concentrated. He is darn swift, and he can try to wreck it both sides, but this year, he has been so-so, here and there, so the young player has to be locked in. 

The problem is that the No. 1 Sinner is much more fitting, and now he rarely gets angry, to lose control. Now he can throw in some errors, but the next point, he tries to forget it, and move on. The Australian Open champion has evolved his return, and at the net, too. Without a doubt, Shelton loves the big stage, but currently Sinner is better than Shelton is, at least for now, and the Italian will win it in four, leathery  sets.

Jasmine Paolini vs. Madison Keys 

She is almost 30-years-old, and Keys has gone deep a lot, but she has yet to win a Grand Slam. On the hardcourts, she is super powerful, and she can crush her forehand and her backhand, but she is not that fast, running. In a  sense, she cannot do much now, because the older you get, you can’t really fix it. However, Keys can insert  some very good shots, with her serve, at the net, and being willingness, too. Keys did reach into the 2017 U.S. Open in the final, and she lost, but she still has a chance to make it again, and maybe to win it. But Keys hasn’t yet, and maybe she never will, but she does have a legitimate shot. 

Now though it is in Wimbledon, on the grass, and Keys does like it, when she doesn’t have to play with the long rallies. Last year, she reached into the quarters, which was decent, so this time, she has to chop down against Paolini.

However, the Italian has had a stunning year, not that Paolini isn’t solid, but this year, at certain events, she decided to hit the ball, very hard. Yes, she can just shove it, but whenever she gets a chance, she can rake it. She reached the final at Roland Garros, and she was on fire, but then, she was so nervous, and she lost, quickly, against Iga Swiatek. Now Paolini is enthusiastic, but really, before this week, she had not won a match here, ever. The 28-year-old Paolini   will battle, but Keys will out-hit her in three sets, and win it with unbroken, shots.

Emma Raducanu vs. Lulu Sun 

Clearly, Raducanu is playing terrific, and here, she could crush Sun with less than an hour.  Raducanu has won a Grand Slam, but Sun is ranked outside of the top 123, and while she is playing better for sure, but over the past one year, she has beaten inside the top 70, until this week. Then she stunned the No.8 Zheng Qinwen 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. At the end, she finally rose.

The 23-year-old New Zealand did look good when she went to the University of Texas, but it will still take a while to upset the excellent competitos. 

Raducanu is having a great time, on the Center Court, and she is wandering on the ball. The Britain is still not playing 100 percent, but she is healthy, and each day, her confidence is uprising. Raducanu will win it in two, easy sets.  

Daniil Medvedev vs. Grigor Dimitrov

Clearly, the Russian has beaten Dimitrov seven times, and three losses. Medvedev has won the 2022 U.S. Open, and the former No. 1 loves to rally, on the hardcourts. But on the grass, he gets caught, when the ball is. He can beat anyone when he is playing astonishing, but he can also panic, inside his head.

There are some wonderful points from Dimitrov, who can mix it up with his one-handed backhand. He has gone deep over the past 12 years, but he has also collapsed, and he lost against even the medicare players. But right now, they do want to win Wimbledon, so they are going to attack, and skip into the net. They have played on the grass, just once, in Queen’s Club in 2017, and Dimintov won it in three sets. Maybe he can try it again, but Medvedev beat him at Indian Wells in March, so he knows how to play. It will be tight, and it will  go into the fifth set. Then, Medvedev will survive, 6-4 in the fifth set.

Tommy Paul vs Roberto Bautista Agut 

The Spaniard Bautista Agut  beat Paul  three times in a row, but then, the American began to add his strokes. Paul played a lot, all the time, and he lost quite a bit, but two years ago,  he changed with the rallies. Yes, he can go for a long time, but he can push closer to the baseline and try to touch it into the corners. The 27-year-old Paul is now  in the top 13, beating a lot of prime players. He then beat Bautista Agut twice, later, and this season at the Australian Open, Paul beat him in four tight sets.

Bautista Agut  plays all the time, week after week, but the 36-year-old rarely gets tired, so there is no question that he really likes to play, even when he is sleeping. Hahaha? However, Paul will take him down, going versus  forehand versus forehand, and the first serve to. Paul  will take it 6-4 in the fourth set.