Wimbledon 2017 Men's Third Round (Friday, July 7th)

Wimbledon 2017 Men’s Third Round (Friday, July 7th)

Written by on July 7, 2017

With a series of stunning withdrawals, strange ‘change-throwing’ exits and one overly absurd tantrum, the ATP portion of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships has had more than its share of drama and we haven’t even reach the second week yet. If you thought the 2017 edition of Wimbledon was all about Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and the comebacks of both, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, then you’d better think again. This year’s version of tennis at Wimbly has had more drama than a daytime Novella. Still, with the third round of action set to get underway in less than 24 hours, I’ve got a quartet of expert tennis betting picks that will point you in the right direction to what should be four third round winning wagers. Let’s get started.

Wimbledon 2017 Men’s Third Round (Friday, July 7th)

 
 

Ernests Gulbis +905 Novak Djokovic -1520

Analysis: Novak Djokovic owns a decisive 6-1 edge in seven career meetings against Ernests Gulbis while winning each of the last four meetings, including their semifinal showdown at the 2014 Australian Open. Still, Gulbis is as talented as any player on the men’s ATP World Tour and could be primed for the upset over the struggling Djokovic after dispatching Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round. However, after he lost to Sam Querrey in the third round of last year’s Wimbly tournament, I’m thinking Djokovic is going to bring his collective ‘A’ game to dispatch Gulbis and reach the fourth round.

Ernest Gulbis ATP Career Finals

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 1 28-Feb-10 Delray Beach Open Hard Ivo Karlović 6–2, 6–3
Winner 2 31-Jul-11 Los Angeles Open Hard Mardy Fish 5–7, 6–4, 6–4
Winner 3 3-Mar-13 Delray Beach Open Hard Édouard Roger-Vasselin 7–6(7–3), 6–3
Winner 4 22-Sep-13 St. Petersburg Open Hard (i) Guillermo García-López 3–6, 6–4, 6–0
Winner 5 23-Feb-14 Open 13 Hard (i) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Winner 6 24-May-14 Nice Open Clay Federico Delbonis 6–1, 7–6(7–5)
Pick: Novak Djokovic in 4 Sets

Mischa Zverev +1270 Roger Federer -2620

Analysis: I love the old-school, serve and volley game that Mischa Zverev uses and I believe he’s going to go all-out to give Roger Federer a tough way to go in their third round meeting this weekend, but the older brother of Alexander Zverev still doesn’t have much hope of beating the man that is considered the greatest male player of all-time. Federer is 4-0 in four career meetings against the elder Zverev, including his straight sets win at this year’s Australian open and a 7-6, 6-4 win at Halle, Germany just prior to the start of Wimbledon. The 29-year-old Zverev has a nice skill set that is ideally suited to the grass at Wimbledon, but he’s just 17-20 this season while Roger Federer has gone a near-perfect 24-2 at the time of this writing. Keep it simple and back the prohibitive favorite to win and advance in four sets!

Mischa Zverev ATP Career Finals

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1 26-Sep-10 Open de Moselle Hard (i) Gilles Simon 3–6, 2–6
Runner-up 2 27-May-17 Geneva Open Clay Stan Wawrinka 6–4, 3–6, 3–6
  Pick: Roger Federer in 4 Sets Wimbledon 2017 Men's Third Round (Friday, July 7th) - David Ferrer

David Ferrer +395 Tomas Berdych -540

Analysis: World No. 39 David Ferrer and World No. 16 Tomas Berdych have met 15 times in their careers with Ferrer owning a slight 8-7 advantage. The bad news for the longtime fifth-ranked player in the world is that he’s lost two straight to the hard-hitting Berdych and four of the last five meetings overall. While the two rivals have never met on grass, I’m thinking this surface is perfectly suited for a commanding win for Berdych seeing as how he’s got the far bigger serve and firepower off the ground. Now, were this match being played on clay, then I’d say Ferrer has a good opportunity to get the upset. Again though, this match will be played on a surface suited to big servers and heavy hitters and in this matchup – that is Tomas Berdych.

David Ferrer ATP Career Finals

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1 2010 Wimbledon Grass Rafael Nadal 3–6, 5–7, 4–6
  Pick: Tomas Berdych in 4 Sets

Sebastian Ofner +1265 Alexander Zverev -2590

Analysis: While World No. 217 Sebastian Ofner and World No. 10 Alexander Zverev have never met before, I’m going on record right now to say that the Aussie Ofner has absolutely no chance of upsetting Zverev with the sweet-swinging German looking like a future World No. 1 in the making. The 20-year-old Zverev is 33-12 on the year with three titles while the 21-year-old Ofner is playing in his first grand slam event. While Ofner beat Thomaz Belluci in the first round and Jack Sock in a thrilling five-setter in the second round, I believe he’s going to find beating Sascha Zverev a lot more difficult that playing the more limited Belluci or Sock. Ofner is making his way up the ranks and looks like he could have a very bright future, but the future is right now for Alexander Zverev which is why he’ll win and advance.

Sebastian Ofner ATP Career Finals

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1 2017 Mestre, Italy Clay João Domingues 6–7(4–7), 4–6
  Pick: Sascha Zverev in 4 Sets