Wimbledon 2024 Day 4: Men's singles predictions ft. Karen Khachanov vs Quentin Halys
Day 4 of the 2024 Wimbledon will bring an end to the second-round matches across the singles events. The first three days of the tournament have witnessed plenty of upsets.
Eighth seed Casper Ruud became the latest casualty as he was knocked out by veteran Fabio Fognini on Wednesday, July 3. Sixth seed Andrey Rublev is the only other top-10 player to have been eliminated.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz continued to roll on as he beat Aleksandar Vukic to reach the third round. Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, and Tommy Paul were among the other big names to advance further with the Spaniard.
More players will aim to reach the third round on Thursday. On that note, here's a look at the predictions for a few key matches set for Day 4 of the 2024 Wimbledon:
#1 - Karen Khachanov vs Quentin Halys
Khachanov was up against fellow Russian Aslan Karatsev in the first round. The former nabbed the first set quite comfortably, and the latter fought back to claim the second set in the tie-break.
The third set went down to the wire as well, with Khachanov taking it in another tie-break. The engaging contest came to an abrupt end as Karatsev threw in the towel a couple of games into the fourth set due to an injury and chose to retire.
Halys came through the qualifying rounds and defeated last year's Wimbledon quarterfinalist Christopher Eubanks in straight sets in the first round. The Frenchman hasn't had much success on the main tour this year, with a 3-2 record thus far, and has spent most of his time on the Challenger circuit.
Khachanov has never lost before the third round at the All England Club. Halys' best result at the venue is a third-round showing, which he managed to achieve last year. Given his opponent's form, the Russian should safely advance further.
Predicted winner: Karen Khachanov
#2 - Hubert Hurkacz vs Arthur Fils
Hurkacz kicked off his Wimbledon campaign with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win over Radu Albot. Fils needed four sets to win his first-round match too as he beat Dominic Stricker 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. It marked his maiden victory at the venue.
The young Fils has been touted as one of the next-gen stars. He has had some good results this season but has been inconsistent as well. He hasn't made it past the second round of a Major either thus far.
Hurkacz, on the other hand, is a solid player on grass. He has a 25-13 record on the surface and made the semifinals of Wimbledon back in 2021. The Pole's experience should guide him to a win over the young Frenchman.
Predicted winner: Hubert Hurkacz
#3 - Alex de Minaur vs Jaume Munar
De Minaur edged past compatriot James Duckworth 7-6 (1), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) to begin his Wimbledon journey. Munar, meanwhile, beat home favorite Billy Harris 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in his opener. It marked his first win at the Majors this season, and his second at the All England Club.
De Minaur leads Munar 3-0 in the head-to-head. The former beat the latter in straight sets in their most recent encounter at last month's French Open. The Spaniard's best results have all been on clay.
However, Munar couldn't even manage to one-up de Minaur on his preferred surface. The former has never advanced beyond the second round of a Major, while the latter has reached at least the fourth round of the last three. Given the Australian's good string of results this year, he will be favored to make it through this clash.
Predicted winner: Alex de Minaur
#4 - Lorenzo Musetti vs Luciano Darderi
Darderi made a victorious debut at Wimbledon as he toughed out a challenge from Jan Choinski to beat him 7-5, 6-4, 2-6, 5-7, 6-2. Musetti, on the other hand, rallied from a set down to defeat Constant Lestienne 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-2.
Musetti has been in fine form on this grass swing. He reached the semifinals of the Boss Open in Stuttgart, losing to Matteo Berrettini, and then finished as the runner-up to Tommy Paul at the Cinch Championships in Queen's Club.
While Darderi is in the midst of a breakthrough season, having won his maiden ATP title, Musetti is slowly turning around his relatively poor record on grass. The latter is likely to come out on top in this all-Italian showdown based on his recent results.
Pick: Lorenzo Musetti