Second-round action at Wimbledon gets underway on Wednesday with an intriguing all-unseeded showdown between Joao Fonseca and Jenson Brooksby. Taylor Fritz has no days off before facing Gabriel Diallo.
Joao Fonseca vs. Jenson Brooksby
Strictly from a stylistic perspective, Fonseca vs. Brooksby promises to be one of round two’s most intriguing matchups. Fonseca absolutely wails on the ball, especially with his serve and forehand. Brooksby does the complete opposite; he massages the ball around the court with spins and slices, rarely taking full cuts.
For the 24-year-old American, it’s a style that can certainly work on grass–and it has over the past couple of weeks. He finished runner-up to Taylor Fritz in Eastbourne and then destroyed Mallorca champion Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 on Monday. Fonseca also impressed in his opener, defeating Jake Fearnley 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(5) in front of a pro-British crowd. The 18-year-old Brazilian does not have much experience on grass, but early returns are encouraging; he lost to Flavio Cobolli 10-8 in a third-set tiebreaker in Halle, beat Zizou Bergs in Eastbourne, and then fell to Fritz 7-5 in the third. The difference in this one could be Fonseca’s ability to win free points with his two huge weapons.
Pick: Fonseca in 5
(5) Taylor Fritz vs. Gabriel Diallo
Fritz’s draw overall is good one since he finds himself in Alexander Zverev’s section (and now even Zverev is out along with Daniil Medvedev), thus avoiding Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, and Jack Draper. The first two rounds, however, have been and continue to be a nightmare. Fritz drew the most dangerous unseeded floater in his opening match and was two points away from losing to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard down 5-1 in the fourth-set tiebreaker. However, the fifth-ranked American somehow won the fourth and came back on Tuesday to finish off a 6-7(6), 6-7(8), 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-4 victory. Fritz’s reward is a Wednesday meeting with Diallo, who is right up there near the top of the same list of unseeded players whom nobody wants to face.
Diallo’s breakout 2025 campaign includes a quarterfinal run in Madrid and his first ATP title on the grass courts of ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The 40th-ranked Canadian won his 20th main-tour match victory of the season by erasing Daniel Altmaier 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 on Monday. Combined, Fritz and Diallo are an unbelievable 18-3 on grass this summer with three titles. Needless to say, this could be the best match of the entire second round. An edge goes to Fritz, who is looking like one of the top contenders outside of Sinner and Alcaraz and can breathe a sigh of relief after getting past Mpetshi Perricard.
Pick: Fritz in 4
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