The matches continued to come thick and fast on Day 3 of the men’s singles at Wimbledon. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and this year’s Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner were among the players in action. It was a day that saw some surprise results, with four seeded players exiting the tournament. This article discusses which players impressed, who struggled and then picks the match that stood out the most.
Wimbledon Day 3 Men’s Recap
Carlos Alcaraz secured a second straight sets victory in a row against Aleksandar Vukic. After a very tight first set, Alcaraz ran away with the match to win 7-6 6-2 6-2. The Spaniard broke Vukic’s serve six times on his way to the third round.
2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev had to work harder for his triumph on Day 3 of Wimbledon. He ground out a 6-7 7-6 6-4 7-5 success against Alexandre Muller. His French Opponent pushed him all the way in a contest that contained several grueling rallies. In the end, Medvedev’s greater focus and consistency were the difference between the two players.
Jannik Sinner had to show his elite mentality in a very tough battle against the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini. Sinner prevailed 7-6 7-6 2-6 7-6 on Centre Court. Berrettini broke Sinner four times, while the younger Italian only managed this twice. But Sinner played the big moments better in the tiebreaks, allowing him to navigate this stiff obstacle.
Jan-Lennard Struff knocked out the seeded Zhang Zhizhen by coming through four very tight sets. The final score was 5-7 6-3 7-6 7-6 in favour of the German. Both players only broke twice each throughout the match. Zhang did not play badly, but Struff’s powerful serving proved to be slightly too much to overcome in the end.
Who Looked Bad
Three-time Grand Slam runner-up Casper Ruud once again failed to reach the Wimbledon third round. Although grass is known to be the surface he is least comfortable on, the Norwegian will still be very disappointed to exit to the 37-year-old Fabio Fognini, who has never managed to get past the third round in London during his long career. Ruud lost 4-6 5-7 7-6 3-6.
2023 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Christopher Eubanks was unable to repeat last year’s heroics on Day 3. The American did not create a single break point opportunity during his 4-6 4-6 2-6 loss to Quentin Halys. Eubanks’ usually formidable serve also did not fire in the manner it normally does, being broken four times.
No. 27 seed Tallon Griekspoor also had a disappointing day. He fell 6-4 6-7 6-1 2-6 3-6 to Miomir Kecmanovic. Kecmanovic deserves credit for his performance, but Griekspoor was far below his usual level, with his aggressive game faltering on several occasions.
Match of the Day
Felix Auger-Aliassime’s enthralling tussle against Thanasi Kokkinakis was the best men’s match on Day 3 of Wimbledon. A single break in the third game was enough for the Canadian to take the opening set 6-4. The following set followed a similar pattern. After strong serving and some big groundstroke winners from both players, Kokkinakis was broken in the 11th game, allowing Auger-Aliassime to serve it out and go up by two sets to love.
The third set went to a tiebreak after no breaks of serve. Auger-Aliassime seemed to be on the verge of triumphing during it, but incredibly, Kokkinakis saved four match points before winning the tiebreak 11-9. The Australian rode on that momentum to claim the fourth set 6-4, breaking Auger-Aliassime’s serve twice in that set.
A shell-shocked Auger-Aliassime could not stop the tide from turning against him. A single break was all Kokkinakis needed to secure the final set 6-4, confirming an amazing 4-6 5-7 7-6 7-4 6-4 victory.
Main Photo Credit: Peter van den Berg – USA TODAY Sports
