Finally a day without any rain and what a day it was. Lots of tennis on day 3 as matches were being caught up. Round 1 has been completed and half of round 2 as well. Djokovic opened up on centre court on day 3 and his opponent was South African, Kevin Anderson. This was a repeat of the 2018 final which Djokovic won in straight sets. The match shaped up to possibly be a good match but Djokovic proved to be the much better player as he won all three sets 6-3. Sabalenka was next on centre. The number 2 seed up against the Brit and home favourite, Katie Boulter. Boulter playing very nicely as she took the first set off the second seed, 6-4. Sabalenka regrouped and took the second set 6-3. Sabalenka was always up in the decider but there were a few nervy moments as she came through the decider 6-3. Murray was last on and his opponent was Oscar Otte. Murray looking very good as he took the first set. Otte hung in and got the important break in the second and all of a sudden it was 1 set all. Murray had a slow start in the 3rd and it ultimately cost him as he now found himself 2 sets to 1 down. Murray was the first to break in the fourth and was serving for the set at 5-3. Just like his first match, he couldn’t serve it out and now it was back on serve 5-4. Thankfully for Murray he broke to win the set and we were going the distance. Murray played a great 5th set and is through to the 3rd round where he will play the 10th seed, Shapovalov. Should be a good match to watch.

Svitolina opened on court 1 as she took on Van Uytvanck. Svitolina took the first set but the Belgium playing a great 2nd set and this 1st round match was going the distance. Svitolina will be relieved as she came through, winning the decider 6-3. Next up on court 1 was the unfinished match between Kyrgios and Humbert. They were starting at 3-3 in the decider. Kyrgios was the first under pressure as he found himself 30-30 and deuce when he was 5-4 down. Sadly for Humbert he couldn’t get any break/match points. Kyrgios was serving to well on the big points. At 7-7, Kyrgios was 0-40 up on Humbert’s serve. This was his chance. Humbert managed to save the first 2 but couldn’t save the third as his backhand went into the net. Kyrgios serving the match out and was going through to the 2nd round. Home favourite and 22nd seed, Dan Evans was next on. He was taken on Dusan Lajovic. Evans said he was a bit nervous playing on court 1 in front of his home crowd but he played a great match to win in straights and book a spot in the 3rd round. Last match on court 1 was between Jabeur and Venus Williams. Jabeur proving to good as she won 7-5; 6-0. Sadly for us South African’s, not only did Anderson lose but Harris also lost which means we have no South African’s into the 3rd round. Raven Klaasen is beginning his Wimbledon today.

Onto the fantasy tournament. Day 3 was a mixture of round 1 and 2 matches so day 3 saw lots of picks fall. 8 male picks lost: Harris, Humbert, Tsonga, Karatsev, Isner, Monteiro, Carreno-Busta and Pospisil. In the ladies draw, we also saw 8 picks lose. Kenin, Andreescu, Kontaveit, Alexandrova, Zhang, Pegula, Teichmann and Bencic.

The lead has changed for a third time in just as many days. ‘Nutty Choice 2′ has regained the lead with our leader from day 2 ,’Miss Nic’, dropping 3 spots. ‘BBB’ and ‘Ladies and Gentleman’ are tied in second and are 12 points off the lead. Day 4 will see the conclusion of round 2 if it doesn’t rain. This would mean for the first time, we will be able to see a representative leaderboard. Can ‘Nutty Choice 2’ keep their lead or can the chasing pack close them down. We will have to wait and see. Here is the leaderboard for Day 3.

Some results from Day 3:

• Cornet beat Andreescu(5) – 6-2; 6-1
• Linette beat Anisimova – 2-6; 6-3; 6-1
• Svitolina(3) beat Van Uytvanck – 6-3; 2-6; 6-3
• Vondrousova beat Kontaveit(24) – 2-6; 6-4; 6-2
• Sabalenka(2) beat Boulter – 4-6; 6-3; 6-3
• Juvan beat Bencic(9) – 6-3; 6-3
• Samsonova beat Pegula(22) – 6-4; 3-6; 6-3
• Begu beat Martic(26) – 7-5; 6-7(7); 6-3
• Osorio Serreno beat Alexandrova(32) – 7-5; 6-2
• Brengle beat Kenin(4) – 2-6; 4-6
• Thompson beat Ruud(12) – 7-6(6); 7-6(3); 2-6; 2-6; 6-2
• Nishioka beat Isner(28) – 7-6(5); 2-6; 6-3; 6-7(3); 6-4
• Chardy beat Karatsev(20) – 7-6(4); 7-6(6); 6-3
• Ymer beat Tsonga – 7-5: 6-7(4); 5-7; 6-4; 6-3
• Querrey beat Carreno-Busta(11) – 7-6(6); 6-4; 7-5
• Koepfer beat Kwon – 6-3; 6-7(8); 7-6(2); 5-7; 6-3
• Murray beat Otte – 6-3; 4-6; 4-6; 6-4; 6-2

Matches to watch Day 3:

• Sandgren vs Zverev (12:00)
• Bublik vs Dimitrov(18) (15:15)
• Hurkacz(14) vs Giron (15:55)
• Fritz(31) vs Johnson (16:30)
• Federer(6) vs Gasquet (17:00)
• Muchova(19) vs Giorgi (12:00)
• Putinseva vs Badosa(30) (12:00)
• Svitolina(3) vs Linette (14:00)
• Kasatkina(31) vs Ostapenko (15:15)
• Tomljanovic vs Cornet (16:00)
• Vesnina vs Gauff(20) (15:45)

Jared

Jared matriculated in 2020 from Wynberg Boys High School in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. His passion for tennis afforded him the opportunity of travelling to Europe. He is a quizmaster and a fantasy organiser.