Raonic, 26, is surely betraying the poor form he had in the Queen’s Club last June, when he was ousted right in the very first round, as he is currently in terrific form in Wimbledon. The Canadian barged into the fourth round of Wimbledon on Saturday, beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas in straight sets, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 7-5.
Raonic, who finished runner up to Andy Murray in last year’s Wimbledon finals, now sets himself up with a showdown with Zverev. Raonic’s service game against Ramos-Vinolas was in top shape, winning 84 percent of his first-serve points and 81 percent of his second-serve points. He also smashed 20 aces, bringing his total to 68—tied for third most in the tournament so far. Zverev could find that power too much to handle just as Raonic’s previous three opponents had.
After disposing of Sebastian Ofner, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, in the third round, Zverev is now in the fourth round, a territory he’s never been in in his nascent Wimbledon career. The 20-year-old German has yet to drop a set in this tournament and he intends to keep it that way when he locks horns with Raonic, whom he has beaten before.
Zverev defeated Raonic in their lone matchup so far, edging the Canadian last May, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, in quarters of the Rome Masters.
Against Ofner, Zverev capitalized on his opponent’s numerous errors with Ofner committing 30 unforced miscues. Raonic has been prone to errors so far, having collected at least 25 errors in each of his last three outings, including 30 in the third round against Ramos-Vinolas.
Writer’s Prediction
Zverev (+105) scores a mild upset with a five-set victory.
