The rain stayed away from Wimbledon for the first time this week and we are due to have what is likely to be the hottest day of the tournament on Friday as another long day at The Championships is set to take place.
Ultimately by the end of Friday evening the hope will be that the tournament is where it should have been and that is having half of the Fourth Round matches confirmed. While it will be a busy day in tough conditions for those out there, it does look like a day where plenty of tennis will be able to be played and that can only be good news for the organisers ahead of what looks to be another few days of inconsistent weather.
Day 4 proved to be a mixed one for the Tennis Picks, but some of those that failed to get over the line were frustrating to see.
Players had enough chances or started too slowly, which can be irritating to see, but plenty of others put the wins together and that can only be appreciated.
With Second Round and Third Round matches set to be played on Friday, it looks to be another long day of selections which can be read below.
Carlos Alcaraz - 8.5 games v Alexandre Muller: He overcame the odds in the First Round when seeing off compatriot Arthur Rinderknech, but it is going to take something special from Alexandre Muller to beat Carlos Alcaraz in the Second Round at Wimbledon.
If you think the Spaniard and World Number 1 has limited grass court experience, it is actually Muller who has had the fewer matches on this surface and not much would have been expected from the current World Number 84.
Alexandre Muller is set for a new career high World Ranking having shown improvement to reach his current best mark at the end of June. The First Round win will have given him a few more Ranking points and the Frenchman can certainly head out onto court knowing he has very little to lose in this match.
However, Alexandre Muller is going to be a big underdog even if he throws caution to the wind and his prior numbers on the grass courts will not have offered a lot of encouragement. Winning matches can change the mindset, but Alexandre Muller will know that he has a serious gap to bridge to Carlos Alcaraz and a 3-6 mark against top 50 Ranked opponents in his relatively young career won't offer a lot of encouragement.
Holding just 66% of service games played against those stronger players will be a problem as Alexandre Muller prepares to face Carlos Alcaraz fresh off a very strong First Round win over Jeremy Chardy. Things got tighter for Alcaraz in the third set, but he had already put himself in a very strong position by then and there is no doubting the focus of the Queen's Champion.
Carlos Alcaraz has a serve that should be a big weapon on the grass courts, but he has impressed with his return over the last month and it could be tough for Alexandre Muller if the top Seed is anywhere near his best.
Spreads like this one can be tough to cover if an opponent is serving at a huge level, but Carlos Alcaraz is expected to get into enough of the return games to wear down Alexandre Muller. Even if one of the sets is very competitive, Carlos Alcaraz is breaking in 27% of return games played on the grass before the tournament began and he should be able to find enough of those in this Second Round match to move through without too many dramas.
Holger Rune - 7.5 games v Roberto Carballas Baena: Facing a home player at a Grand Slam is always a tough challenge, even for the most hardened of professionals, so Holger Rune has to be given a lot of credit for the way he handled the First Round at Wimbledon. An unfamiliar opponent was one issue, but Holger Rune would not have been accustomed to the rain delays that Wimbledon veterans will know all too well and so the manner of his victory has to be given a lot of respect.
He is one of the talented next generation on the Tour and Holger Rune reached the Semi Final at Queen's Club after failing to win a grass court match previously. That run will have given him a lot of confidence and the Danish player will also have appreciated the way the draw has shaped up to give him a chance to really work his way into this Grand Slam.
Holger Rune is a big favourite when taking on Roberto Carballas Baena who is a clay court specialist that does not usually spend a lot of time on the grass courts. After dropping the first set in the First Round, Roberto Carballas Baena was able to roll through his match and that will have given him plenty of belief to take into this match as the Spaniard perhaps looks for his experience to give him an opportunity to upset a top ten Seed.
This is asking quite a lot of Roberto Carballas Baena who has an 1-11 record against top 100 Ranked opponents on the grass courts and that drops to 0-3 when only looking at top 50 opponents. Of course Holger Rune is perhaps not as experienced as some of the others Roberto Carballas Baena may have had to face in the Second Round, but it will need a special effort from the Spaniard who has seen his serve attacked by the better players on the Tour on this surface.
Roberto Carballas Baena has beaten Holger Rune on the clay courts in 2022, which will give him confidence, but the latter is improving at a rapid rate in each passing week on the Tour. Holger Rune has been playing really well over the last month and his serve is a potent weapon when the youngster is on form.
If he can just look after that aspect of his tennis, Holger Rune should find Break Point opportunities and he can work his way into another strong win at Wimbledon.
Andrey Rublev - 5.5 games v David Goffin: Wins at the 2017 US Open and 2020 Australian Open may have been seen as upsets when Andrey Rublev got the better of David Goffin, but in 2023 the Russian is a significant favourite when they meet in the Third Round of Wimbledon.
Rain delays have meant both had to play on Day 4 of The Championships and will be back out on court on Day 5 to try and help get this tournament back on schedule. Both players were forced to go four sets in Second Round wins, but it would be a surprise if fitness issues are a massive concern, especially for Andrey Rublev.
His win over compatriot Aslan Karatsev saw Andrey Rublev serving really well and putting his opponent under pressure and the serve is going to be very important for him. It was an important weapon for Andrey Rublev in the two Grand Slam wins he holds over David Goffin, while he also served really well on his way to the Final in Halle to build the grass court confidence for a player who has not had his best Grand Slam results in South West London.
No one should be overlooking the ability of David Goffin who reached the Wimbledon Quarter Final just twelve months ago, even if his grass court warm up run was not as impressive as the Belgian would have liked. In that run at Wimbledon, David Goffin beat Frances Tiafoe last year and he pushed Cameron Norrie to his limits so this is a player that can be very effective on this surface and will not have spent too much energy in winning his two matches.
It may have been different if Nick Kyrgios had taken his place in the draw as he was set to face David Goffin in the First Round, but the injury opened things up for Goffin and he deserves respect for taking advantage.
This time it will likely be much tougher for David Goffin and his service numbers have not been as strong in the build up to Wimbledon as they were last year. He will have to be aware that he is facing an opponent who looks to be returning efficiently on the grass and this is likely going to be the key to the outcome of this Third Round match with the expectation that Andrey Rublev will create more Break Points.
Nothing ever comes easy against David Goffin and his last three Grand Slam losses have come in five sets to suggest he is not going to go away even if he falls behind.
However, Andrey Rublev has found ways to beat David Goffin in these Slam events before and his game looks to be in pretty good shape at Wimbledon so he can find a way to break down the veteran as Rublev reaches the second week at this Grand Slam for the second time.
MY PICKS: Carlos Alcaraz - 8.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Holger Rune - 7.5 Games @ 1.80 Coral (2 Units)
Andrey Rublev - 5.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Alexander Zverev - 6.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Alex De Minaur - 1.5 Sets @ 2.20 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Botic Van De Zandschlup @ 2.40 Coral (2 Units)
Christopher O'Connell @ 1.90 Bet365 (2 Units)
Novak Djokovic - 7.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Denis Shapovalov - 1.5 Sets @ 1.66 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Jannik Sinner - 5.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Aryna Sabalenka - 5.5 Games @ 1.72 Coral (2 Units)
Jessica Pegula - 4.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Sofia Kenin @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Donna Vekic @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)
Bianca Andreescu - 1.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Wimbledon Update: 33-27, + 6.12 Units (120 Units Staked, + 5.10% Yield)
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