Friday's Wimbledon predictions: South American stars seek further upsets
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Recommended bets:
- Nicolas Jarry to beat Joao Fonseca
- Mattia Bellucci to beat Cameron Norrie
- Aryna Sabalenka to beat Emma Raducanu 2-1
- Solana Sierra to beat Cristina Bucsa
Several star players have been toppled in the first week of Wimbledon and some more favourites could fall by the wayside on Friday.
Emma Raducanu will aim to spring a massive shock in the top half of the women’s draw when she takes on world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
The Briton is playing well enough to make it interesting while the likes of Nicolas Jarry, Mattia Bellucci and Solana Sierra are all worth considering to upset the odds.
Nicolas Jarry vs Joao Fonseca
Nicolas Jarry will be a lively underdog in this all-South American scrap against Brazilian boy wonder Joao Fonseca.
The Chilean stunned No.8 seed Holger Rune in round one by battling back to win from two sets down to the 2023 Wimbledon quarter-finalist.
Jarry looked sharp in qualifying and conserved some energy by seeing off Learner Tien in three short sets on Wednesday.
He is serving well and has the overall game to knock Fonseca out of his formidable stride.
The teenager benefitted from Jacob Fearnley’s serving woes in round one before battling past an inconsistent Jenson Brooksby, but this will be a tougher task for the youngest man to reach the Wimbledon third round since 2011.
Mattia Bellucci vs. Cameron Norrie
After stumbling out of the blocks when losing the opening set of his first-round match to British wildcard Ollie Crawford, Mattia Bellucci has played beautifully since.
He has won six straight sets in the tournament, taking down 23rd seed Jiri Lehecka — the man who beat Jack Draper at Queen’s Club and pushed Carlos Alcaraz all the way in the final — in the second round.
Bellucci has a solid serve and a superb array of groundstrokes, which will stand him in good stead against Cameron Norrie.
The Briton has enjoyed flying under the radar at Wimbledon this year, but he isn’t the underdog in this contest and could be ripe for an upset.
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Aryna Sabalenka vs. Emma Raducanu
Raducanu’s 3-12 career record against top-10 opponents suggests she has her work cut out in this clash, but two of those three victories came on grass, where she looks very comfortable.
With the backing of the Centre Court crowd and her confidence soaring, the British No. 1 has every chance to take a set off the world’s best.
Sabalenka, meanwhile, was pushed in her second-round match when Bouzkova broke to serve for the first set at 6-5.
The world No. 1 responded immediately, breaking back and then dominating the rest of the contest—winning 88% of her first-serve points and firing 41 winners.
A fiercely competitive match with momentum swings is likely, but Sabalenka’s experience and firepower should ultimately prove decisive.
Solana Sierra vs. Cristina Bucsa
Solana Sierra’s story this year might have another chapter left in it. She has had to move apartments three times during Wimbledon after surpassing expectations by getting into the main draw.
The lucky loser from qualifying now faces a 50-50 contest against Cristina Bucsa for a place in the last-16 and the chance to almost double her career prize money in less than a week.
Bucsa seized an opportunity to beat 2024 semi-finalist Donna Vekic in round two, but the Croatian was having a bad day and called the trainer on after dropping the first set 6-1.
Now she will be expected to end the Argentine fairytale on an outside court and may struggle to follow-up her big win.
