Guido Pella v Mackenzie McDonald - third on Court 18
The giant killer takes on the man who regards everyone around him as giants. The man who beat Marin Cilic against the man who beat the man who beat the No.28 seed. (This is beginning to sound like that old music hall song “I danced with a man who danced with a girl who danced with the Prince of Wales”.) Still, this is a huge chance for one of the draw’s unheralded heroes to book his ticket to the second week.
Guido Pella, the world No.82, did not so much open up the top half of the draw as tear it to shreds when he beat Cilic on Thursday. Cilic, the No.3 seed was supposed to be the biggest threat to Roger Federer’s chances – the two were seeded to meet in the semi-finals – and yet 28-year-old Pella, the left-hander from Bahia Blanca did for him in five sets. Not even Pella was quite sure how.
Trying to stop the Argentine is Mackenzie McDonald, the world No.103 from America. Born and raised in Los Angeles and schooled at UCLA, McDonald won the 2016 NCAA titles in both singles and doubles before abandoning his studies and college tennis to turn professional.
Growing up, McDonald looked up to Roger Federer and Kobe Bryant. Alas, when he had grown up, he still looked up to them – Mackenzie is not the tallest of players. Standing 5ft 10in (Federer is 6ft 1in tall and Bryant is 6ft 6in), he has no great weapon other than his speed around the court. Still, he has won two matches already (and taken nine sets to do so) and fears no one.
His other great idol is the late basketball player and then coach at UCLA, John Wooden. He, too, was 5ft 10in and was a master of down-to-earth philosophy. “Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out” was one of his mottos, along with “do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” That thinking has taken McDonald to the third round this week; who knows where it will take him in the future?
Milos Raonic v Dennis Novak - third on No.1 Court
Milos Raonic is a man with a point to prove in SW19. He reached the final in 2016 only to run slap-bang into Andy Murray and reel away without so much as a set. Thanks to a succession of injury woes, he has yet to repeat that feat but he comes to SW19 with high hopes.
The tall Canadian has a terrifying serve and, now that he is working with Goran Ivanisevic, more of a willingness to come in behind it. Now, here is a little factoid: it was Ivanisevic who coached Marin Cilic to his first – and, to date, only – Grand Slam title. The thrust of his coaching advice was simply for Cilic to use his natural aggression. If you can serve that big, make it work for you. Volley a bit. And Cilic won the US Open. If Ivanisevic is trying to work that same magic with Raonic, the next few days could be very interesting.
On paper, Raonic would be the overwhelming favourite in this one except that Dennis Novak, the world No.171 from Austria, loves to play on grass. Like most people in the sport, he grew up idolising Federer, but it is with his compatriot and clay court specialist Dominic Thiem that he trains. And Thiem’s work ethic and training methods are the stuff of legend.
So what has Thiem taught Novak of late? Someone asked the French Open finalist and world No.7. Not a lot, as it turned out. Thiem was taking tips from Novak because Novak was the one who knew how to play on the green stuff. Clearly Thiem was not taking much notice because he had to pull out in the first round with a bad back while Novak is eyeing up a place in the fourth round.
Serena Williams v Kristina Mladenovic - second on Centre Court
Day 5, third round and how far has Serena Williams progressed? She thought her last match was better than her first, so that's a step of two in the right direction. But now, with the second week coming into sharper focus and the opponents getting bigger and better, it is time to move up a gear.
Friday's foe is the feisty and talented Kristina Mladenovic from France. They have only met once before but she made life extremely uncomfortable for Williams that day. It was at Roland-Garros two years ago and it took the American more than two hours to win (12-10 in the second set tie-break, if you were wondering).
That day, Mladenovic used every ounce of court craft to unsettle the defending champion, using the drop shot at every opportunity to get her rival on the run. Given that Williams is still working her way back to full fitness after the birth of her daughter last September, do not be surprised if she tries the same tactic again today.
