The proverbial first week of Wimbledon wraps up on Saturday, when Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev are among those taking the court. Fritz is facing a red-hot Alejandro Tabilo, while Zverev is going up against Cameron Norrie.
Here are my previews and picks for two of Saturday’s best matchups.
(13) Taylor Fritz vs. (24) Alejandro Tabilo
Fritz vs. Tabilo is a battle between two players in confident form. In fact, they won the two tournaments immediately preceding Wimbledon (Fritz in Eastbourne and Tabilo in Mallorca). Now they will go head-to-head for the third time in their careers. Fritz has won each of their previous tilts; 6-1, 6-4 on the clay courts of Houston in 2022 and 7-6(2), 6-2 earlier this year in Indian Wells.
The 12th-ranked American is 33-12 for the season and so far in SW19 he has ousted Christopher O’Connell and Arthur Rinderknech. As well as Fritz is playing, Tabilo cannot be discounted. The 19th-ranked Chilean now owns two titles in 2024 (also in Auckland) and he earned his place in the Wimbledon third round for the first time with defeats of Dan Evans (straight sets) and Flavio Cobolli (five). Still, Fritz is a whole different beast and he is absolutely loving the lawns of London.
Pick: Fritz in 3
Cameron Norrie vs. (4) Alexander Zverev
Norrie is suddenly beginning to evoke memories of his run to the Wimbledon semifinals at Wimbledon two years ago. The British left-hander has slumped to No. 42 in the world, but he opened with a straight-set defeat of Facundo Diaz Acosta and then ousted recent Stuttgart winner Jack Draper 7-6(3), 6-4, 7-6(6).
Up next for the 28-year-old is a contest against Zverev. The head-to-head series stands at 5-0 in favor of Zverev (5-2 if you include Futures as Challengers). Zverev won four consecutive times in straight sets before surviving a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(10-3) thriller at the 2024 Aussie Open. Zverev comes into this one with a 39-11 record for the season following straight-set wins this fortnight over Roberto Carballes Baena and Marcos Giron. Even if Norrie keeps up the level that he has regained, Zverev is probably too good.
Pick: Zverev in 3
