Three to See, Day 6: Berrettini vs. Zverev; Jabeur vs. Andreescu; Tiafoe vs. Dimitrov

Matteo Berrettini vs. Alexander Zverev

The Italian and the German are 27 and 26, respectively, but there’s already a throwback quality to this third-rounder. Or maybe a “don’t forget about us” quality. One of these guys, if not both, was supposed to have won a major title by now, yet neither is seeded in the Top 15.

Just a year ago, Berrettini was one of the favorites to win Wimbledon. He had made the final the year before, and was in fine form on grass. Then he got Covid, his career went sideways, and he came to the All England Club unseeded. But if Berrettini didn’t seem to be a factor at the start of the week, his straight-set win over 15th seed Alex De Minaur has made him one.

Now he’ll run into what should be a bigger obstacle. Berrettini is a more accomplished grass-courter than Zverev, but Zverev has a 4-1 record against him. On hard courts and clay, Zverev’s superior backhand has allowed him to grind Berrettini down from the baseline. But that won’t be as easy at Wimbledon. Berrettini has a way of serving his way through close, tiebreaker-heavy matches here. This will likely be another. Winner: Berrettini

Ons Jabeur vs. Bianca Andreescu

After two matches on No. 1 Court, Jabeur, last year’s runner-up, returns to Centre for the first time. It’s a fitting occasion, because she’ll be facing a former Grand Slam champion who may also be a match for her in the shot-making department. The Tunisian and the Canadian both have strong forehands and two-handed backhands, as well as a penchant for variety and surprise. Andreescu likes the slice forehand almost as much as Jabeur likes the drop shot from way back in the court. Grass should be a good surface to see them match wits.

They’ve played once, on hard courts in 2021, and Jabeur won in three sets. She’s also ranked 44 spots ahead of Andreescu, who has spent the better part of two years trying and mostly failing to stay healthy and string together victories. But she had a good one against Victoria Azarenka at Roland Garros, and she won a third-set tiebreaker over Anhelina Kalinina in the second round. Andreescu likes a stage, but is she ready to beat a player who is already comfortable on this one? Winner: Jabeur

Frances Tiafoe vs. Grigor Dimitrov

No. 2 Court will be the site of this late day crowd-pleaser between the 10th ad 21st seeds. Both of these guys are well-liked, for their game styles and their personalities. After playing well on grass coming into this tournament, and winning two matches this week, they should both feel good about their chances of making the quarterfinals or better at Wimbledon. The winner could meet grass novice Holger Rune in the fourth round.

Dimitrov leads Tiafoe 2-1 in their head to head, but the most recent of those matches happened in 2019, and one of the Bulgarian’s wins came at Laver Cup, a quasi-exhibition. With his one-handed backhand and transition skills, Dimitrov is more of a natural on this surface. But Tiafoe just won his first title on it in Stuttgart, and he is playing with the confidence of someone who thinks the third round at a major isn’t good enough for him anymore. Winner: Tiafoe