The third slam of the season is in full swing as the third round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships wraps up on Day 6. The All England Club draw has given us some scintillating Round 3 matchups, including No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev vs Cameron Norrie. As always, we at LWOT have our roundtable predictions for all the Wimbledon action. Ateet, Jordan, Damian and Yesh offer their insights.
Wimbledon Men’s Day 6 Predictions
Holger Rune vs Quentin Halys
Ateet
Rune has been one of the few players on the men’s side who has looked great and has not spent extra energy playing five-setters. He will be looking forward towards the potential fourth-round clash with Novak Djokovic. Quentin Halys will be in his way who has played a great tournament so far. Rune goes in as the favourite and should get the job done.
Prediction: Rune in 4
Jordan
Rune faces a tricky test against Halys, who does everything solidly. That means he could pay the price if he starts as slowly as he did against Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last round. But I doubt Rune will be guilty of doing that two times in a row.
Prediction: Rune in 4
Damian
Halys is a real threat and while his last good tournament was literally Wimbledon in 2023, he suddenly found his game again in time for the big event. He’s been deadly since the qualifying and has that aggression to really take your breath away. As long as his body holds up, this seems like a complete coin flip to me. And given Rune’s recent records, I’m not fully convinced that I should trust him to deliver.
Prediction: Halys in 5
Yesh
Holger Rune is looking solid and comfortable on the grass. Quentin Halys is playing well, but Rune is just better and it doesn’t look like the surface is going to equalize things.
Prediction: Rune in 4
Taylor Fritz vs Alejandro Tabilo
Ateet
Taylor Fritz is playing at a high level at the moment, and it would be hard for any player to stop him. He loves playing on grass and the grass rewards him back with results. Alejandro Tabilo is having a wonderful year and is thriving on all surfaces. He has the game to trouble Fritz but Fritz will be ready.
Prediction: Fritz in 4
Jordan
Fritz will be thoroughly tested by Tabilo, who has made huge progress this season. The American’s serve in particular needs to be firing, since Tabilo is an excellent returner. Overall, I still think Fritz’s firepower makes him the favourite, but the match will be competitive.
Prediction: Fritz in 4
Damian
That men’s third quarter is blowing up and Fritz might be the best candidate to pick up the pieces. The American won Eastbourne last week, while Tabilo claimed the title in Mallorca. Fritz already managed to take a lot of momentum from a pre-Wimbledon title back in 2022 and should be able to do it again here, he’s just the stronger player and Tabilo’s lefty shots going at his two-hander isn’t a problem for him at all.
Prediction: Fritz in 4
Yesh
Taylor Fritz is looking very strong so far, with two solid wins in London. Off-court distractions couldn’t hurt him in the last round, and nothing will get in his way this round, either. He’s just better than Tabilo on grass.
Prediction: Fritz in 3
Francisco Comesana vs Lorenzo Musetti
Ateet
Comesana could not have hoped for a better start to his Grand Slam career. After beating Andrey Rublev in the first round, he backed up the performance against Adam Walton in a hard-fought contest. Lorenzo Musetti also played a five-set thriller against fellow Italian, Luciano Darderi. Musetti has lots of wins under his belt this grass season and will fancy his chances to get at least one more.
Prediction: Musetti in 4
Jordan
Comesana has surprised many with his run so far, since he had no previous history of grass-court success before this tournament. By contrast, Musetti was playing well on grass in the leadup to Wimbledon. Expect this to be close, but the intensity of Comesana’s efforts may finally catch up with him in this one.
Prediction: Musetti in 5
Damian
Comesana’s play in the first two rounds here has been incredibly refreshing as he once again shows he’s way more adaptable to faster conditions than most other clay-courters. But Musetti has made such awesome progress off-clay too and is putting in a very strong grass campaign for the second season in a row. Comesana can do this, but overall the Italian can probably deliver that quality a bit more reliably.
Prediction: Musetti in 4
Yesh
What an incredible run by Comesana here. He took out Andrey Rublev in the opening round and backed it up with a tough win against Adam Walton. This is where the party ends, though, as Musetti looks like a potential title contender on the Wimbledon grass.
Prediction: Musetti in 3
Alexander Zverev vs Cameron Norrie
Ateet
Cameron Norrie played his best match of the year to beat the British No.1, Jack Draper in straight sets. Norrie displayed great intensity right from the start and did not let Draper settle. He made some great passing shots throughout the match. Zverev also played one of his best matches on grass if not the best against Marcos Giron. This will be a great match if both the players can display a similar level but Zverev has the slight edge because of his big serve.
Prediction: Zverev in 5
Jordan
Norrie has lost all five of his matches against Zverev, However, he did push the German to five sets at the Australian Open this year. The Briton was also excellent against Jack Draper, but Zverev’s serve has been sublime in his first two matches, and that makes him very tough to stop.
Prediction: Zverev in 4
Damian
Norrie enjoyed himself so much in the underdog role against Draper and played his best match since beating Ruud at the Australian Open this year. After that match, he also took Zverev to a deciding set tie-break in the next round. The German isn’t at his best on grass courts, but with the draw opening up for him this year he might actually have a shot to produce something at Wimbledon this time around.
Prediction: Zverev in 5
Yesh
Is this where the Brit’s run ends? Cameron Norrie rolled back the years in beating Jack Draper. He looks supremely comfortable on the grass, and the gameplan to take out Alexander Zverev doesn’t have to be that different. I’m smelling upset potential.
Prediction: Norrie in 5
Main Photo Credit: Peter van den Berg – USA TODAY Sports