Middle Sunday

A lot of the magic with Wimbledon is the tradition. The strawberries and cream, the required white outfits, the Royal Box, and Middle Sunday, which we are about done with.

It's tough to be off work an entire day with no tennis because it feels like such a waste, but it was also kind of nice to have a day for some errands and catching up on other TV. Oh, and I watched the Murray match I missed the other day. So, I guess I cheated a little on Middle Sunday.

Starting tomorrow, the tourney really heats up with the 4th rounds (and, because of some rain on Friday, the conclusions of some 3rd round matches). So let's see where we're at:

The Gentlemen

Djokovic vs Tsonga- I picked Djokovic to get through this one, but Tsonga is a great player. Tsonga will probably be tired from his super long (and rain-delayed) match, but also, who knows if Djokovic's arm was affected by his fall the other day. Head to head Djokovic owns him so I'd put money on him.

Chardy vs Cilic- I had originally picked Gulbis to get through this round after his great French Open, oops! So, Chardy vs Cilic? They've only played once and it was years ago so not much to go on there. I'm gonna go with Cilic based on his winning over Berdych, a tough player, and he has that great serve.

Murray vs Anderson- I, of course, picked Murray to win the tourney so he better make it through this round! Anderson will be tough because he has a great serve, too, but Murray is one of the best returners and he has been looking super sharp so far in the tourney. They've played twice and split the wins, in 2010 and 2011. I can see Anderson getting a tie-breaker set, but I do think Murray will come through this one in 3 or 4 sets.

Dimitrov vs Mayer- Dimitrov is my other favorite player and I've picked him to get through, too. They've never played, but I think Dimitrov will get through in 4.

Note: Wawrinka/Istomin and Lopez/Isner, both in this part of the draw, have 3rd round matches to complete.

Robredo vs Federer- I'm not a big Federer fan so I'd love to see an upset, but Robredo just had a long 5-setter. He has beaten him once, at last year's US Open, but the 10 times prior, Federer won.

Raonic will await the 3rd round match of Botelli/Nishikori.

Kyrgios vs Nadal- Super excited for this match up between the rising and on-fire Kyrgios and Nadal who is a relentless competitor. I think Nadal will win, but I'd love to see Kyrgios get a set (or 2!) off him. I had originally picked Gasquet to be in this match and to actually beat Nadal so what do I know?

The Ladies

Cornet vs Bouchard- I picked Bouchard to win the tournament, but I definitely thought she'd have to beat S. Williams to do it. I think this match might go 3, but Bouchard will come through in the end. They've only played one time before (in 2013) and Cornet came through in 3, but Bouchard has been awesome lately. (Although...so had Cornet!)

Kerber vs Sharapova- Sharapova will probably lose the first set and then find some freakish way to come through and win the thing. That's her thing. Their head to head is 1-4 in Sharapova's favor.

Halep vs Diyas- Halep should get through this. She beat her in the Australian Open this year and has been cruising lately.

Ivanovic/Lisicki and Keys/Shvedova have 3rd round matches to complete from this section of the draw.

Smitkova vs Safarova- I think Safarova will get through this one on experience as the older player who is ranked 23. This is the section of the draw where I thought Cibulkova would have gotten through so these are all just guesses now.

Makarova vs Radwanska- This is really a toss up. Makarova won their last meeting on a hard court and has been playing really well, but Radwanska is the type of player who can get through tough matches. I'm gonna go with Radwanska.

Kvitova vs Peng- Kvitova has owned her in their past 4 meetings and I think this won will go the same way.

Wozniacki vs Zahlavova Strycova- Head to head this goes to Wozniacki and I think that will continue. Zahlavova Strycova just beat Li Na, but it was a tight match and Wozniacki is so consistent that I think she will pull through.

So, my initial picks for winning the tournament are still in play: Andy Murray and Eugenie Bouchard!