Three to See, Day 2: Facing Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas is on upset alert

WATCH: Elina Svitolina knocked out former Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the first round

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Dominic Thiem

“You still have it,” Tsitsipas told Thiem after the two played earlier this year in Madrid. “You got this.”

That day, at least, Tsitsipas was right, Thiem did still have it. The Austrian pushed the Greek to a third-set tiebreaker in one of the best matches of the tournament. Since then, though, the 29-year-old Thiem’s long-running, stop-and-start comeback has mostly stalled again. At four Challengers and two ATP events this spring and summer, he’s managed to get out of the second round just once.

Still, grass is a great leveler, especially with these two. Once upon a time, a one-handed backhand was an advantage on the slick surface, but for Tsitsipas and Thiem it has been a distinct liability. Both of them have reached Grand Slam finals on hard courts and clay, but neither has made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon.

As for their current form, while Thiem doesn’t have much momentum, Tsitsipas, who lost early at all three of his grass tune-ups, would appear to have even less. Which means this could be a competitive match. Winner: Thiem

Elena Rybakina vs. Shelby Rogers

Ranking-wise, this doesn’t look like much of a contest: Rybakina is No. 3, Rogers is No. 46. Ditto for their records at Wimbledon: Rybakina is the defending champ; Rogers is 4-6 there for her career and has never been past the third round. Shelby also hasn’t won a match since Madrid.

But their head-to-head tells a slightly different story. Yes, Rybakina leads 3-2, but Rogers won their last meeting, in 2022, in a match played on grass. A few weeks later, Rybakina’s confidence and career took off when she won her first major title at Wimbledon. If nothing else, this match will give us an early glimpse of how she handles defending one foe the first time, against a player who can slug with her. Winner: Rybakina

Frances Tiafoe vs. Wu Yibing

If you’re looking for flash, you’ve come to the right place. Tiafoe is an exciting athlete and a committed showman, while Wu is a dazzling shotmaker—on the right day.

The 25-year-old American and the 23-year-old from China have never played. Tiafoe will be the clear favorite to start. He won his first-grass-court event a few weeks ago in Stuttgart, and after making the semifinals at the US Open last year, he surely must be thinking about a deep run at Wimbledon, which could include meetings with Holger Rune and Carlos Alcaraz in the not-too-distant future.

But Wu, despite being ranked 49 spots below Tiafoe, can’t be dismissed out of hand. This winter, he burst onto fans’ radar by beating Denis Shapovalov, Taylor Fritz and John Isner on his way to the title in Dallas. While he’s come down to Earth since, we still know that the top-tier ball-striking potential is there. Winner: Tiafoe