We take a look at the two interesting Wimbledon 2022 fixtures between John Isner and Jannik Sinner as well as Nikoloz Basilashvili and Tim van Rijthoven.
John Isner (20) (29/20) vs Jannik Sinner (10) (8/15) – Wimbledon 2022
John Isner broke British hearts on Wednesday with his methodical victory against Andy Murray. It was a significant victory for the American as he had lost all previous eight encounters with the Scot.
You have to wonder what it means for Murray if he can’t beat Isner- a man he had beaten eight previous times- at his favourite arena. But Isner’s legendary serve came to the fore throughout (he hammered down 36 aces and only faced two break-points in the entire match). But it wasn’t just Isner’s serve that was dominant.
He outmanoeuvred Murray from the back of the court and his touch around the net was delightful. 37-year-old Isner is quite simply a grass-court powerhouse. He is a four-time Newport champ and who can forget that masochistic Wimbledon semi-final he had with Anderson in 2018?
He hasn’t been in the best form this year. But form is meaningless when you serve like he does on this surface. Honestly, that performance against Murray was arguably one of his best ever at SW19.
Jannik Sinner has had a weird season. He has won an impressive 29 matches out of 37 all season. But he is yet to reach a semi-final all year.
Let me explain. He won all his matches at the ATP Cup before a string of high-profile quarterfinal appearances. This included a laudable quarterfinal run at the Aussie Open (just his 2nd Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance).
But he has also been forced to withdrawal from a variety of events (including the French Open 4th round and Miami Open quarterfinal). So, there’s definitely a sense of ‘what might have been’ for Sinner this year. But at least he can check ‘grass-court victory’ off the bucket-list. His opening round win against Stan Wawrinka was his first triumph won this surface (he was previously 0-4 on grass).
He followed up that Wawrinka victory with another solid showing against Mikael Ymer. 20-year-old Sinner’s serve has improved dramatically and he seems to be getting more free points this year. But how will he manage the serving blitzkrieg that is John Isner?
The Verdict: Sinner to win in four at 14/5- Sinner and Isner share the head-to-head spoils 1-1. Both of those matches came last year, with Isner winning in Cincinnati and Sinner triumphing at the Davis Cup.
A key component of this match will be how 37-year-old Isner is able to physically bounce back. He had a monster five-set opener before that tense Murray win. I think that could give Sinner the edge. Sinner also has brilliant lateral movement that could help him generate some opportunities on the Isner serve.
Nikoloz Basilashvili (22) (9/5) vs Tim van Rijthoven (42/100)- Wimbledon 2022
Nikoloz Basilashvili is one of the most infuriating players on tour. He has endured a dismal season (he is currently 12-20 for the year). But he still managed to reach a final in Qatar.
He won two titles last year against the run of play. He is just a feast-or-famine type of operator. But Basilashvili is far from a grass-court specialist. His previous best result in this event was a 3rd round showing in 2015.
He has only won a further two Wimbledon matches leading into this year’s tournament. In that regard, the Georgian will be pleased with his progress thus far. But Rosol and Halys have hardly been elite opposition. And he struggled to beat Rosol in five sets before another tight four-setter against Halys.
Basilashvili is simply too erratic to string consistent results together. And next up for him will be one of the most in vogue players at this year’s championships: Tim van Rijthoven.
People use the term ‘fairy-tale’ too glibly (heck, I almost used it earlier in this article in reference to Andy Murray). But the recent rise of Tim van Rijthoven truly earns that title. The 25-year-old Dutchman’s career has been slaughtered by a series of long-term injuries.
A former Wimbledon Juniors quarterfinalist, van Rijthoven only won his first ATP-level match at this year’s Libema Open.
But that opening victory against Mathew Ebden- in front of his home crowd- seemed to ignite something inside the Dutchman. He would go on to stun 9th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals before destroying top seed Danil Medvedev in the final. That Libema Open title gifted him a wildcard into this year’s Wimbledon Championships. And he hasn’t looked back.
He thrashed clay-court specialist Delbonis in his opening match before defusing the serving barrage of Reily Opelka in his 2nd. He serves big and has an ultra-attacking style of play (making him a perfect candidate for this surface).
The Verdict: van Rijthoven to win in four at 5/2- This will be their first ever meeting. And I can only think of one winner. Nikoloz Basilashvili is just too unpredictable. The Dutchman is the better server and just looks a more natural fit for this surface.
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