Wimbledon gets underway on Monday. Here are three upsets in the men’s round I am actually predicting.
1) Albert Ramos-Vinolas over (3) Casper Ruud.
Ramos-Vinolas, the 34-year-old Spaniard maybe playing against a top-three seed at Wimbledon in round one. However, remember Ruud, the Norwegian clay court specialist, has never really delivered with impressive results outside of clay. Of Ruud’s eight ATP titles, seven have been on dirt, and he has never won a Wimbledon match. Remember, it is really tough for players to backup a great result at the French Open, where Ruud reached the final, with a great performance at Wimbledon. Head-to-head, Ramos-Vinolas has the 3-1 advantage. Ramos-Vinolas has won the only match at a major, in the second round of the 2018 French Open, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
2) Pablo Andujar over (9) Cam Norrie.
There is a lot of pressure for British tennis players to play at Wimbledon, and it may be tough for the world number nine Cam Norrie in the first round. Despite winning Indian Wells in 2021, Norrie has never reached the fourth round at a single major. This will be their first head-to-head meeting. Andujar meanwhile has reached the third round at the last two grand slam events not on clay.
3) Marcos Giron over (24) Holger Rune.
Like Casper Ruud of Norway, Holger Rune of Denmark is a clay-court specialist, who had a deep run at the French Open. For the 19-year-old from Copenhagen, Rune reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros before losing to Ruud. Despite not winning an ATP event yet, Giron is very established at age 28, and should provide a tough test for the seeded Scandinavian teenager. This will be their first head-to-head meeting.
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