Seventeenth seeded Cristian Garin of Chile will face unseeded Spaniard Pedro Martinez in the Third Round of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships. The match is scheduled to be played on Friday July 2nd, 2021.
Pedro Martinez is not a name that many would have expected to see here in the Third Round of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, but the Spaniard has played some great tennis to reach this stage. On the other side of the net, Cristian Garin has established himself as a top 20 player, but seems vulnerable on the grass. Can the Spaniard keep the dream alive and cause yet another upset here at Wimbledon?
Cristian Garin is ranked #20 on the ATP Tour and is the number seventeen seed here at Wimbledon. The young Chilean has proven that he is one of the world’s best clay court players over the past few years, and has had a couple notable results on hard. While he is here in the Third Round, it truly has been a struggle for Garin, who was lucky to escape a five set First Round win win over Zapata Miralles, He was again made to work in a tight four set win over Qualifier Marc Polmans, and it is evident that he is very uncomfortable on this surface. The silver lining is that he has been given a very good draw, and will face yet another Spaniard in Pedro Martinez who also doesn’t have much experience on this surface.
Pedro Martinez is currently ranked #107 in the ATP world rankings and is making his Main Draw debut here at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships. The Spaniard is considered a clay court player and certainly wasn’t expected to still be here, but he has played some great tennis to defeat much higher-ranked players Stefano Travaglia and Gael Monfils to reach this stage. He was particularly impressive against Monfils, defeating the struggling Frenchman in four tough sets. While Monfils has been in poor form, it is still a fantastic win for the Spaniard and his confidence will be sky high. He starts as the underdog for the third straight match against Cristian Garin, but knows that the Chilean is vulnerable on grass and he may have a shot here.
This looks like an easy pick on paper, but their performances have made the decision a lot tougher. Martinez is playing freely and has been impressive, while the Chilean Garin has struggled mightily. However, even if he is not fully at his best on grass, Cristian Garin should still have too much quality for his opponent here, and should come away with a tough four or five set win. He is too talented to not figure this surface out eventually, and I see him grinding out yet another ugly win here at Wimbledon.