Day 3 at Wimbledon had a bit of everything. A top 5 player on the men’s side limped out without even taking the court, American women blew up the draw on the women’s side of the draw and favorites moved on to live another day. Here’s what you may have missed day 3 at Wimbledon.
Biggest Upset
The two biggest surprises of day 3 came in the form of unassuming American women. Coco Vandeweghe and Bethanie Mattek-Sands both defeated higher seeds, (11) Karolina Pliskova and (7) Ana Ivanovic respectively. Five other Americans, on both the men and women’s side, were victorious on the grass which included a first 3rd round appearance for 22-year-old Dennis Kudla who defeated upstart German teenager, and former junior number 1, Alexander Zverev.
Best Match
Ričardas Berankis, a diminutive 5’9’’ journeyman from Lithuania, put in a spirited display on centre court against the 6’6’’ US Open Champion Marin Cilic. Berankis used his quickness to his advantage and was able to stretch the match out to a hard fought five sets. In the end Cilic showed his superior shot making ability and ended the three and a half hour match with 28 aces and 66 winners.
Title Watch
The two odds on favorites, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams had an easy go of it on day three as they both cruised in straights. Djokovic will take on the combustible Bernard Tomic in round three while Serena will battle England’s own Heather Watson. French Open Champion Stan Wawrinka (4) and former Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova (4) also had an easy go of it but both are question marks going forward. Wawrinka has never been past the quarters at Wimbledon while Sharapova lone Wimbledon final came back in 2004, which is mind boggling in itself. Expect the top seeds on both sides to avoid both 4 seeds in the semis.
What to watch for Day 4
Federer (2) takes on American Sam Querry, Nadal (10) looks to get past dreaded fan fav Dustin Brown, while Madison Keys (21) tries to keep her good form going against Russian Elizaveta Kulichkova.
