Wimbledon Day 3 Tips, Predictions & Best Bets - Djokovic & Tsitsipas collide in second round blockbuster

Djokovic vs Tsitsipas Tips & Prediction

• Djokovic has dominated this matchup over the course of their careers, holding a 12-2 record - but he's obviously in the twilight of his career and things aren't flowing as easy as they once were
• Djokovic lost a set to Perricard & Royer at Roland Garros before losing to Fonseca, while he also dropped a set to Yibing Wu in his Wimbledon opener
• Tsitsipas was never great on grass even at his peak, but the Greek beat Gaston in straight sets in his R1, which followed warm-up exhibition victories on grass against Darderi and Prizmic
• Bottom line: I think a +5.5 start on grass for Tsitsipas looks good here, with Djokovic dropping 1+ sets in his last seven Grand Slam matches

Safiullin vs Van De Zandschulp Tips & Prediction

• Safiullin is back in form after injury, winning 23 of his last 28 matches and upsetting Rublev in his opening round
• Safiullin is a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist and is a perfect 2-0 in second rounds here
• Van De Zandschulp has a poor 1-4 record in Wimbledon second rounds and lost the only previous meeting between the pair
• This is the first time since 2022 Van De Zandschulp has won multiple matches during the grass swing - this isn't naturally a great surface for him, so running into an in-form opponent who has beaten him before should spell the end of his run

Brooksby vs Buse Tips & Prediction

• Difficult season for Brooksby, but he's been solid on grass, making R2 at Queens and Eastbourne before thumping Vukic in straight sets in his Wimbledon opener - good opportunity here
• Buse has only played six matches on grass in his entire career, with his three wins coming vs players outside the top 80 - still very inexperienced on this surface
• Buse has 169 professional wins and 142 have come on clay - Brooksby's unorthodox game should give him lots of problems on a surface he is yet to truly come to grips with

Rinderknech vs Damm Tips & Prediction

• Two huge servers and I'm expecting a long match with plenty of tiebreaks - Damm played four against Trungelliti in his opener, while Rinderknech saw two in his win over Tarvet
• Another long match with tiebreaks here should give both players the opportunity to serve plenty of aces
• Rinderknech fired down 33 aces in four sets against Tarvet, while he also had 18 vs Damm in a two-set loss on clay in the pair's only previous meeting
• If Rinderknech can serve 18 aces in two sets on clay, he should be able to eclipse 20 here, which looks great value

Davidovich Fokina vs Marozsan Tips & Prediction

• Davidovich Fokina is on a five-match winning streak after claiming his maiden and elusive ATP title in Mallorca last week - where he beat Marozsan along the way
• Davidovich Fokina now owns a 2-0 record over Marozsan - but he's dropped a set in both victories
• Davidovich Fokina rarely does things the easy way - he's dropped 1+ set in seven of his last 10 Grand Slam matches and I'd be surprised if he didn't lose one here
• Marozsan is a streaky player who can catch fire for periods of time, but rarely over the course of a match - he's got a 10-12 record on grass and likely doesn't have the consistency to win this one

Gauff vs Sierra Tips & Prediction

• Not a great season for Gauff, but she registered a confidence-boosting 6-1 6-2 win over Korpatsch in her Wimbledon opener
• I think this is a good matchup for Gauff to continue generating momentum - the American crushed Sierra 6-1 6-1 at the United Cup at the start of the year
• Sierra needed three sets to edge out Bondar, who has never won a grass main draw match in her career - not the greatest sign heading into a big match like this
• It all comes down to the serve for Gauff - she didn't face a break point vs Korpatsch and won 32/39 points on serve, which is encouraging going forward

Parks vs Sawangkaew Tips & Prediction

• Admittedly go light with this selection, but after watching Sawangkaew against Chwalinska in her opening match, I think she has the game to frustrate the erratic Parks on this surface
• Sawangkaew has a funky game and decent variety, which has seen her win four matches from Wimbledon qualifying - she's a battler too, with all four coming in a deciding set
• Parks is hit or miss and could easily implode in a matchup like this - she's 1-4 in Grand Slam second round matches and has never been past R2 of any grass event at tour-level
• Sawangkaew prevailed 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the pair's only previous meeting in Hong Kong in 2024

Tatjana Maria vs Iva Jovic Tips & Prediction

• Just have to take Maria with a +4.5 games start on grass against basically any opponent - she's one of the few grass court specialists left in the game and her slices and variety can be especially effective vs younger opponents, who aren't use to that sort of ball
• Maria has won 22 of her last 29 matches on grass, winning the Queens title last year and also making the final of Eastbourne last week
• Maria has beaten the likes of Rybakina, Anisimova and Keys during that period and is also a former Wimbledon semi-finalist
• Jovic is enjoying a great rise up the rankings, but she has limited experience on grass and as mentioned, this is a matchup she doesn't often face - this won't be easy for the teenager