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PREVIEW: Wimbledon 2022 – Selected 3rd Round Women’s Fixtures

An all-American Wimbledon third-round set to take place this Saturday when Coco Gauf goes head-to-head with Amanda Anisimova.

Coco Gauff

An all-American Wimbledon third-round set to take place this Saturday when Coco Gauf goes head-to-head with Amanda Anisimova.

Two women looking excitedly at cellphone

2022 WTA Tour
Grand Slam Tennis
Wimbledon Tennis Championships
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England (Outdoor Grass)
Selected 3rd Round Matches- 2nd July

Coco Gauff (11) (9/20) vs Amanda Anisimova (20) (17/10)

Coco Gauff doesn’t seem to have been too fazed by her lethargic performance in the Roland Garros final. She was irrepressible in her 2nd round match against Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu, sailing through to a 6-2, 6-3 victory. The win was punctuated by the two fastest serves in the entire tournament.

In total, the American served 10 aces and won 85% of her first-serve points. These are the type of serving stats that typified her run in Paris. Gauff seems to have a special connection with the venue that made her a star at the tender age of 15.

She came into this match with ideal grass-court prep after a semi-final run at the BETT1 Open. She hasn’t unduly exerted herself since her French Open heartbreak and she will go into this match as the strong favourite.

Gauff’s opponent in this all-American clash will be 20-year-old Amanda Anisimova. It’s actually Anisimova who has played the more consistent tennis this year (obviously discounting Gauff’s incredible run in Paris).

She started the year by winning her 2nd WTA title at the Melbourne Summer Set 2. She then picked up a highly creditable 4th round run at the Aussie Open. She enjoyed a solid clay-court season, reaching the semi-finals in Charleston before back-to-back quarterfinals in Madrid and Rome.

Anisimova has also shown astute court-dexterity, compiling a grass-court record of 4-1 going into this match. She had to show a little gumption to overcome another American: Lauren Davies. But this match is going to be a struggle for the talented American.

The Verdict: Gauff to win in straight sets at 21/20- Gauff leads their head-to-head 1-0, beating Anisimova in straight sets en route to her maiden title in Parma last year.

Gauff should just have too much for Anisimova. Her serve is far more consistent and she seemed find her range against Buzarnescu. Anisimova is strong on return but will find it hard to make inroads against Gauff’s current booming deliveries.

Paula Badosa (4) (11/10) vs Petra Kvitova (25) (69/100)

These Wimbledon Championships represent a real opportunity for Paula Badosa.

With grass-court queens such as Serena Williams and Karolina Pliskova already eliminated, there is certainly a chance for some of the other top 10 women to stake their claim. And Badosa has just as good a shot as anyone this year. She has an explosive serve and excellent power off both wings. She does tend to let the pressure get to her occasionally, allowing double faults to creep into her game.

But I don’t think there’s an enormous amount of expectation on Badosa this year (especially on this surface). She lost in the opening round at Eastbourne and she has generally flown under the radar this year (this despite consistent quarterfinal and semi-final appearances).

But she has looked imperious in these Championships, only dropping eight games in her first two matches. In her 2nd round match against Bara she won an incredible 89% of her first-serve points.

This is the beauty of Wimbledon (or the grass-court season in general). A player can come here with little or no form to speak of and suddenly turn on the magic.

Petra Kvitova endured a horror year leading into the grass-court season. The Czech star was eliminated in the first round of the Aussie Open and the 2nd round of the French. She hadn’t reached the semi-finals in twelve events leading into Eastbourne. And then she goes and wins Eastbourne for the first time in her career (she lost a final there way back in 2011).

That tells you all you need to know about Kvitova’s grass-court prowess. Age is meaningless if Kvitova can get that pinpoint serve operating. The two-time Wimbledon champion is also a two-time Birmingham conqueror. She is a master of playing constricted, one-two punch tennis. Can she get Badosa to play her game? Or will the Spaniard have her gulping for air in extended rallies?

The Verdict: Badosa to win in three at 34/10- These two have only met once before, with Kvitova beating Badosa in straight sets at the 2020 Aussie Open. But that was before Badosa had established herself as a force in the game. This could be a really tight one. One part of me is pulling for Kvitova and her exquisite grass-court credentials (not to mention grass-court form).

But I think Badosa has the ground game to disrupt Kvitova’s serve. Kvitova loves that sliced serve out wide. That just so happens to play into Badosa’s double-handed backhand (probably her most accomplished groundstroke). I think Badosa could actually edge this one.

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