Wimbledon 2021: Daniil Medvedev vs Carlos Alcaraz preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match Details
Fixture: (2) Daniil Medvedev vs (WC) Carlos Alcaraz
Date: 1 July 2021
Tournament: The Championships, Wimbledon
Round: Second round (Round of 64)
Venue: London, Great Britain
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Grass
Prize money: £17,066,000
Match timing: Approx. 4 pm local time, 3 pm GMT, 11 am ET
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - BBC TV & Radio | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Daniil Medvedev vs Carlos Alcaraz preview
Second seed Daniil Medvedev will take on Spain's rising star Carlos Alcaraz in the second round at Wimbledon on Thursday.
Medvedev, making his fourth main draw appearance at the Championships, ousted the dangerous Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round on Tuesday. The Russian won 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(3) to exact revenge for his loss to the German in Halle a few weeks ago.
Medvedev began strongly, making good use of his powerful serve to take the first two sets without breaking sweat. However, Struff, who largely employed a serve-and-volley tactic in the match, made a comeback in the third. But Medvedev managed to regain his focus and close out the match in four sets.
Medvedev struck 51 winners, including 16 aces, and got broken just once throughout the match. He also committed only 24 unforced errors, which bodes well for him going forward.
Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz prevailed 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 against Yasutaka Uchiyama in a rain-interrupted match on his Wimbledon debut.
The teenager struck a mammoth 66 winners, with most of them coming from the back of the court. Alcaraz did not have much success on his serve though, managing only six aces and committing five double faults.
That's an area he will need to improve on when he faces Medvedev.
Daniil Medvedev vs Carlos Alcaraz head-to-head
Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz have never played each other on tour before, so their head-to-head stands at 0-0.
Daniil Medvedev vs Carlos Alcaraz prediction
Daniil Medvedev enters this match as the firm favorite. The Russian's serve and powerful groundstrokes yielded rewards against Struff, and he will be keen to carry that form into his encounter against Alcaraz.
The conditions at SW19 are tailor-made for Medvedev; the balls are keeping low and skidding off the surface due to the excess moisture. This will aid the Russian, who hits extremely flat off both wings.
That said, Carlos Alcaraz could trouble the second seed from the baseline, given the weight of his shots. The Spaniard should be able to hold his own in the rallies but his serve is not the best and will be relentlessly attacked by Medvedev.
Prediction: Daniil Medvedev to win in four sets.