Juan Martin del Potro v Feliciano Lopez
If there’s one match that fans might wish for both combatants to win, it’s this one. Juan Martin del Potro, the 2013 semi-finalist, is a long-established crowd favourite; the similarly popular Feliciano Lopez is competing in a record 66th straight Slam.
But it’s stakes, not sentiment, that will factor as the No.5 seed del Potro targets a continuation of a 2018 resurgence in which he defeated Roger Federer to win the Indian Wells title and returned to a Grand Slam semi-final at Roland-Garros.
At age 36, Lopez has slipped to world No.70 but has a proven ability to find career-best form at SW19. Alongside three quarter-finals in 16 previous Wimbledon appearances, the Spaniard has also claimed three of six singles titles on grass.
Del Potro holds only a narrow 4-3 edge in their head-to-head matches, with signs of an elongated battle ahead. The Argentine featured in the longest Wimbledon semi-final in history in 2013, losing to Novak Djokovic 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 6-3 in four hours and 43 minutes.
On his debut at The Championships in 2002, Lopez saved a match point to defeat Konstantinos Econonimdis in the first round and six match points to overcome Guilermo Canas in the second. It’s a history that shows each man’s fierce competitive drive at Wimbledon and fans would be well advised to settle in.
Ashleigh Barty v Eugenie Bouchard
While there’s a striking commonality in the second round meeting between two former girls’ champions in Ashleigh Barty and Eugenie Bouchard, it’s equally notable that each woman has taken a remarkably different path in recent years.
Barty, who claimed the 2011 girls’ title at age 15, left tennis for a time to play cricket while 2012 girls’ champion Bouchard was runner-up in the women’s singles draw in 2014. More recently, the Australian and Canadian have taken near opposite turns in their respective careers.
The returned-to-tennis Barty recently won her second career title at Nottingham to arrive at SW19 as the No.17 seed. Bouchard, who peaked at world No.5 after her 2014 Wimbledon heroics, is making her way back from a baffling slump and at world No.188, had to qualify for The Championships this year.
The contrasting form showed in the opening round: Barty advanced without fuss against Stefanie Voegele while Bouchard took three sets to overcome Gabriella Taylor. Barty defeated Bouchard in their only other career meeting, the first round of Miami in 2017, but is far too smart a player to underestimate her wily opponent.
Both are proven performers at Wimbledon and both love a battle, setting the stage for an intriguing second round.
Denis Shapovalov v Benoit Paire
Can Denis Shapovalov, the 2016 Wimbledon boys’ champion, continue an electrifying rise with victory over the similarly flashy Benoit Paire? Given the teenager’s fearless approach on the biggest stages, there’ll likely be entertainment aplenty as we find out.
At age 19, Shapovalov has already moved ahead of 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic to become Canada’s No.1. His current No.25 ranking was helped by a run to the Montreal Masters semi-finals in 2017, where he defeated Juan Martin del Potro and Rafael Nadal.
The aggressive teenager has since lost none of his sting, as Paire discovered in a three-set loss to Shapovalov in Madrid. Having easily overcome Jason Jung in the first round, the world No.47 Frenchman will relish the chance to level the ledger against Shapovalov, who earlier overcame Jeremy Chardy in four sets.
Naomi Osaka v Katie Boulter
All the stats favour the hard-hitting Naomi Osaka as she encounters Katie Boulter in a repeat of their Birmingham first round. The American-based Japanese player is ranked world No.18 and contesting her 10th Grand Slam. World No.122 Boulter is competing on this stage for just the second time.
But the 20-year-old Osaka, a winner over Monica Niculescu in her Wimbledon 2018 opener, would equally know of the potential danger ahead. After losing to Osaka as a wild card in Birmingham, the 21-year-old Boulter stunned Veronica Cepede Royg of Paraguay 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in her first round here spanning more than two hours.
The fast-rising Osaka, who defeated a series of current and former world No.1s on the way to her first career title in Miami earlier this year, is one of the most keenly-watched women on the Tour. Boulter, though, is a home favourite – and so far, she’s thrived on that crowd support.
