Ricky’s picks for Day 8 at Wimbledon, including Alcaraz vs. Berrettini

Two days after battling past Nicolas Jarry in somewhat of a scare, Carlos Alcaraz will face anothe dangerous big hitter in the form of Matteo Berrettini. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Chris Eubanks are also in action with quarterfinal spots on the line.

Here are my previews and picks for two of Monday’s matchups.

(1) Carlos Alcaraz vs. Matteo Berrettini

Just a week ago, it would have been almost impossible to see Berrettini as a threat to any kind of top player–much less the world No. 1. But now, from out of nowhere, that is without question the case. Three very impressive wins into his event, Berrettini is invoking memories of his former self heading into the fourth round. The runner-up at the All-England Club in 2021, Berrettini’s record had been just 7-7 this year (0-1 on grass), but in week one he ousted Lorenzo Sonego, Alex de Minaur, and Alexander Zverev.

Berrettini can also take confidence from past efforts against Alcaraz. All three of their meetings have required final sets, with the Spaniard winning two. One of those included a 6-2, 7-6(3), 4-6, 2-6, 7-6(5) win for Alcaraz at the Aussie Open to begin 2022. Of course, Berrettini has never faced this top-ranked, slam-winning version of Alcaraz. Now a U.S. Open champion (2022), the No. 1 seed is back in round four at the AELTC thanks to victories over Jeremy Chardy, Alexandre Muller, and Nicolas Jarry. Both Alcaraz and Berrettini have surrendered just a single set so far. This has all the makings of another blockbuster between the two.

Pick: Alcaraz in 5

Chris Eubanks vs. (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas

Eubanks isn’t the most surprising of five unseeded men who reached the fourth round, but his run also wasn’t expected. The Georgia Tech product was mostly a stranger to the main tour (played more on the Challenger circuit) prior to 2023 and came into it at No. 123 in the world. However, Eubanks has been on fire this season. He broke into the top 100 with a QF run at the Miami Masters and that has sent him off to the races. Eubanks captured his first ATP title on the grass courts of Mallorca and so far this fortnight the 6’7” American has gotten the best of Thiago Monteiro, Cameron Norrie, and Christopher O’Connell.

Next up for him is Tsitsipas, who was 1-3 in three warmup events on grass and got a tough draw in SW19, too. However, the Greek navigated his way through the first week featured by beating Dominic Thiem (in a fifth-set tiebreaker), Andy Murray (also in five sets), and Laslo Djere (four sets). Tsitsipas is far from invincible at the moment and has never been at his best on grass, so Eubanks has a shot. However, just as the world No. 5 was against Thiem and Murray he will likely be the better player in the pressure-packed situations.

Pick: Tsitsipas in 5

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.