Wimbledon, Day 8: The round of 16’s old favorites, new surprises

Karolina Pliskova

The famous Round of 16 match is on Monday. It is very crowded. Th fans must decide: Where will they go? Good luck, and hopefully, there will be some dramatic matches.

A few days ago I wrote an article about Sebastian Korda, Madison Keys, Denis Shapovalov, Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur.

Here, there are 13 matches coming upon Monday:

Karolina Pliskova vs Liudmila Samsonova
The Czech has reached the second half at the Slams, so many times. She is vast hitter, but she can collapse. Samsonova is brand new and just emerging now. All of a sudden, she is a darn good player. It is her time, but she has to handle the big stage if she wants to advance.


Novak Djokovic vs Cristian Garin
The Serbian is steady of the rock, while Garin likes to move the round the box. Djokovic will be sharp with his backhand, and he will trick him a lot.

Angie Kerber vs Cori Gauff
The German is finally good again and she has won Wimbledon before, so she really likes to grind it. The American has improved a lot this year, but it will take her a while to really understand how tricking the grass is.

Roger Federer vs Lorenzo Sonego
The Swiss is getting better every day, but he is not perfect yet. The Italian is creative, and ambitious, but Roger will nail his forehand and his returns.

Ash Barty vs Barbora Krejcikova
The Aussie is still so-so. But the No. 1 really wants to minimize her errors, which is unusual. The Czech is rising, finally, and she can hit very hard, but at times she checks out mentally.

Alexander Zverev vs Felix Auger-Aliassime
The German badly wants to win a Grand Slam this year, and in the first week, he was more thoughtful and patient. The Canadian really hustles, and he can smack the ball, but Zverev returns better and bangs a bigger first serve.

Emma Raducanu vs Ajla Tomljanovic
Who would have foreseen that these two have won three matches? On Monday, they will be thrilled to be on the court. Maybe the nerves will kick in. It is a tossup, but if the veteran Tomljanovic strikes early, she will win it and celebrate, with a big smile.

Andrey Rublev vs Marton Fucsovics
The Russian is under control, and he can blast his forehand and backhand. Eventually he will win a major, but maybe not this Wiml\bledon, Fucsovics is pretty robust, and he must hit more with slice. Rublev will dominate him.

Daniil Medvedev vs Hubert Hurkacz
The other Russian was down 0-2 and it looked like he might fold against Cilic, but he stayed in there and came back by being steadier, with more penetrating shots. Medvedev can win Wimbledon, but Hurkacz is very neat, another man who will reach the top 10. Bang, bang. But this can go five sets.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina
At times, Sabalenka can be angry, but this year, outside of the Grand Slams, she is pretty brilliant. She has so much potential. Rybakina is also gaining ground. She is showing real court understanding. This will be a three-setter.

Matteo Berrettini vs Ilya Ivashka
The Italian likes to rally a lot. He can attack when he has the opportunity and knock it on the lines. Ivashka has been around for a long time, and few people know him, but he reached the Round of 16, so he must be pretty fit.

Karen Khachanov vs Sebastian Korda
The Russian is a big banger, and the American is also young with a lot of variety. This should be a great match. Of course, they will go into the fifth set. Whomever will win will do it with a lot of aces and thev crisp returns. This will be all about who can keep their cool in the third set.

Karolina Muchova vs Paula Badosa
Another young player of note is Muchova, who can show grea potential. But, Badosa is even younger and is showing real steadiness. But, also, will Muchova climbing up the hill.