The tournament continues at Wimbledon with the conclusion of the Second Round at this Grand Slam event on Thursday.
With other big sporting events scheduled to be played over this coming month, Wimbledon is perhaps struggling to earn the early headlines that they would usually expect. Unfortunately it is a year when a major international football tournament is also being played, which makes things tougher for this event to pick up the headlines, while this weekend we have the British Grand Prix and soon fans will be thinking about the latest edition of The Open.
Things should change as we get deeper into the third Slam of the season.
Most of the big names are ticking through the draw, which is going to set up headline-grabbing contests later in the tournament and the Third Round has already begun to take shape.
Heat is going to be the biggest challenge for the players from Friday through to the end of the 2026 Wimbledon tournament, and it may need the roof for assistance, but for now that is an issue that will have to be dealt with over the weekend and Thursday should still be comfortable enough for players involved.
Alex De Minaur - 5.5 games v Adrian Mannarino: There has always been a huge amount of comfort for Adrian Mannarino when he has played on the grass courts and the recently turned 38 year old has used the experience to help him get the better of younger opponents.
These days Adrian Mannarino is the World Number 40, but that is also a testament to the kind of tennis that the Frenchman can still produce. He was a very comfortable First Round winner when forcing his opponent to not create a single Break Point and Adrian Mannarino will certainly be playing with 'nothing to lose'.
At the same time, Mannarino will recognise the challenge in front of him against an opponent who has beaten him in four matches in a row.
Two of those wins have been on the grass courts, although Alex De Minaur had not faced Adrian Mannarino since the 2023 Queen's Club tournament before getting the better of the veteran in Hertogenbosch last month. It was a victory earned in the Semi Final, but that run will be a reminder to Alex De Minaur that he cannot afford too many slow starts.
It was a slow start in the First Round, but the scheduling to head out onto court just minutes after fiancee Katie Boulter suffered a defeat was not ideal for the Australian. Battling through the first set did give Alex De Minaur the confidence to roll through the next two sets and the feeling is that the World Number 6 can do something similar in this match.
When they met last month in the Hertogenbosch Semi Final, Alex De Minaur had a considerable edge on the return of serve.
The key is that the Australian has seen this lefty serve very recently and Alex De Minaur should be able to wear down Adrian Mannarino over three or four sets.
Taylor Fritz - 6.5 games v Patrick Kypson: This is a big spread for a player to cover when they have struggled on the return side of their tennis and especially on the grass courts.
However, World Number 7 Taylor Fritz is a pretty comfortable player on the surface and he should be able to get the better of compatriot Patrick Kypson who has limited grass court experience and who did not play a competitive tournament prior to Wimbledon getting underway. Patrick Kypson beat Mackenzie McDonald in the First Round, but this is a huge step up in terms of level with McDonald out at World Number 145 and Taylor Fritz in the top ten.
Earlier this year, Patrick Kypson reached the top 100 of the World Rankings, but he has dropped back out of those positions and it will be a challenge to put together the kind of results to see him earn a direct spot in the US Open in August. The First Round win is a big boost, but Kypson is going to be under pressure to serve well in this match against Taylor Fritz who reached the Final in Stuttgart and Halle, albeit coming up short in both.
Taylor Fritz has also reached the Quarter Final in three of the last four years at Wimbledon and broke through to reach the Semi Final in 2025.
Skipping out of the clay court season may have given Taylor Fritz time to get up to full health and he was pretty happy with his First Round performance. Reaching the Final has to be the aim in the half of the draw opposite both Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner and especially with Ben Shelton also eliminated, but Fritz is going to be keen to just show how much he is focused on the task at hand.
The Patrick Kypson serve can be dangerous and it will make for a competitive set or two, but Taylor Fritz may eventually use his own serve to keep the pressure on the younger American and that could see things just run away from Patrick Kypson when all is said and done.
MY PICKS: Alex De Minaur - 5.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Taylor Fritz - 6.5 Games @ 1.80 William Hill (2 Units)
Kamil Majchrzak - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Flavio Cobolli - 1.5 Sets @ 1.70 William Hill (2 Units)
Amanda Anisimova - 5.5 Games @ 1.91 William Hill (2 Units)
Madison Keys - 5.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Sorana Cirstea - 4.5 Games @ 2.10 William Hill (2 Units)
Linda Noskova - 4.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Wimbledon Update: 15-15, - 7.60 Units (58 Units Staked, - 13.10% Yield)
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