Wimbledon day six predictions & tennis betting tips: Athletic American could take some stopping

Where to watch

Live on BBC One, BBC Two & BBC iPlayer, from 11am Saturday

Best bets

Frances Tiafoe to beat Grigor Dimitrov
2pts 10-11 bet365, Hills

Jiri Lehecka to beat Tommy Paul
1pt 11-10 Hills

Three sets in Beatriz Haddad Maia v Sorana Cirstea
1pt 13-10 Hills

Wimbledon day six preview 

Katie Boulter is the last Briton standing in the women’s draw, but the recent Nottingham Open winner will be relying on home support to spur her on in her third-round clash against defending champion Elena Rybakina.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz and third seed Daniil Medvedev are the leading lights in action in the men’s draw, although there are some intriguing encounters set to take place including Alexander Zverev’s crunch clash with Matteo Berrettini.

Frances Tiafoe v Grigor Dimitrov

Frances Tiafoe’s run to last season’s US Open semi-final was a hint that he was ready to start going deep in Grand Slam events and the American can make the fourth round at Wimbledon for the second year in a row with victory over Grigor Dimitrov.

The tenth seed has added two titles to his CV this season, which includes a grass-court triumph in Stuttgart in preparation for the All England Club.

Tiafoe has built on that with straight-set victories over Yibing Wu and Dominic Stricker in SW19 and, although the rejuvenated Dimitrov has been in better heart lately, the American still holds the aces.98

The Bulgarian is a former Wimbledon semi-finalist but that came way back in 2014 and he has failed to reach a Slam quarter-final since the 2021 Australian Open.

The 32-year-old made an ATP Tour final on clay in Geneva in May but on these faster courts he may be vulnerable to the speed and athleticism of Tiafoe.

Jiri Lehecka v Tommy Paul

Jiri Lehecka announced himself as a player of immense potential when making the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January and the Czech may have the beating of 16th seed Tommy Paul.

American Paul went on to make the last four of that Melbourne major but he has also had more opportunities to prove himself at Grand Slam level than Lehecka, who is making only his second start at Wimbledon.

However, the 21-year-old has looked impressive in claiming his opening two scalps at the All England Club, recording straight-set wins over Sebastien Ofner and Francisco Cerundolo and saving all four break-point opportunities he faced against his serve.

First-serve percentages of 79 and 74 show Lehecka is serving superbly and those numbers are sure to pile the pressure on Paul, who required four sets to see off the injury-ravaged Milos Raonic last time out.

Lehecka's emphatic 6-2 6-2 6-2 win over Cerundolo could be particularly telling as the Argentinian had accounted for Paul at the Queen’s Club and in Eastbourne last month.

Beatriz Haddad Maia v Sorana Cirstea

Beatriz Haddad Maia and Sorana Cirstea have both required deciding sets to prevail in their opening two matches in the London major and the pair may have to endure another three-set thriller.

Haddad Maia is a habitual slow starter and the Brazilian came from a set down to see off the challenge of Yulia Putintseva and Jaqueline Cristian, while Cirstea has dug deep against Tatjana Maria and Jelena Ostapenko.

The form of the Romanian looks stronger, but she seldom makes things easy for herself with nine of her last ten matches having gone the distance.

Cirstea leads their personal series 3-1 but even two of those victories came via a deciding set and French Open semi-finalist Haddad Maia, who is having a season to remember, is unlikely to give up without a fight.

Sign up to emails from Racing Post Sport and get all the latest news and tips

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport