By Chris Oddo | Thursday July 6, 2017
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Karolina Pliskova and a whole lot more. We preview Wimbledon's Day 4 by the numbers.
See the Day 4 OOP Here
1. 589
Yes, that is the ranking of former Roland Garros semifinalist and Top 10 player Ernests Gulbis as he prepares to face Juan Martin del Potro in their sixth career meeting. Gulbis has actually taken two of the last three vs. the Argentinian but they have not met since 2014.
2. 1300
Angelique Kerber is defending 1300 points at Wimbledon this year and needs to reach at least to the final to retain the No.1 rankings. She faces World No.88 Kirsten Flipkens in the final match on No.1 Court today.
3. 30/34
Dominic Thiem dropped just four first-serve points in his opening-round win over Vasek Pospisil. He’ll be in action on No.1 Court on Day 4, battling Gilles Simon for the 8th time. Thiem has won four in a row vs. Simon and this is their first meeting on grass.
4. 14-1
Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova holds a 14-1 record on grass this season at all levels. She won two $100k ITF titles and reached the semis at Nottingham, losing to Johanna Konta. She’ll face No. 3-seeded Karolina Pliskova on Centre Court today.
5. Monfils’ pleasant section
Gael Monfils has never been the second week of Wimbledon but today he’ll bid to reach the third round for the sixth time. If he gets by Kyle Edmund, he’ll face either Yuichi Sugita or Adrian Mannarino in the third round. Could be a run for LaMonf.
6. Pliskova for No.1
Czech Karolina Pliskova can reach the No.1 ranking by reaching the final here, but it may not take that much if Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber falter. The Czech leads the tour with 295 aces and has 37 match wins this season. Pliskova faces Magdalena Rybarikova on day 4.
7. Nole vs. non-Top 100
Novak Djokovic lost to a player ranked outside the Top 100 for the first time at a major at the Australian Open when he fell to No.117-ranked Denis Istomin. Today he faces No.133, Czech Adam Pavlasek. The pair are meeting for the first time. Djokovic is bidding to reach the third round at Wimbledon for the ninth consecutive year.
On Day 2, Djokovic recorded his 234th Grand Slam match-win and took sole occupancy of 2nd place on the all-time list for most Grand Slam match-wins ahead of Jimmy Connors (233). Only Roger Federer (315) has recorded more match-wins at the majors in history.
8. 5 and 10
Agnieszka Radwanska owns a 5-0 lifetime record against American Christina McHale and has dropped just nineteen games against the American in winning all ten sets. They are the second match up on No.2 Court.
9. Father Timeless
At 35 years 342 days, Roger Federer is looking to become the oldest man in the Open Era to win the Wimbledon title. By winning the Australian Open this year aged 35 years 174 days, he became the 2nd oldest man to win a Grand Slam title after Ken Rosewall won the 1972 Australian Open aged 37 years 62 days. Federer faces Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic on Centre Court (final match) on Day 4.
10. Other must-see second-rounders
Here’s a list of other matches we’ll be keeping tabs on:
Caroline Wozniacki vs. Tsvetana Pironkova, fourth on, No.2 Court (Wozniacki has never reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon; Pironkova has done it twice and reached the semis once).
Alexander Zverev vs. Frances Tiafoe, fourth on, No.3 Court (Zverev looks primed for a quarterfinal run; Tiafoe is fresh off his first Wimbledon win).
Daria Kasatkina vs. Anett Kontaveit, fourth on, No.16 (Both players are immensely talented, with bright futures. Is that future now?)
Enjoy the tennis!