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

Carlos Alcaraz celebrating his win against Yasutaka Uchiyama

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.