The remaining quarterfinal spots at Wimbledon will be handed out on Tuesday, when Iga Swiatek, Mirra Andreeva, Emma Navarro, Novak Djokovic, and Jannik Sinner take the court. An especially intriguing showdown pits Andreeva against Navarro. Familiar foes Ben Shelton and Lorenzo Sonegon are also taking the court.
Here are my picks for two of Monday’s best matchups.
(10) Ben Shelton vs. Lorenzo Sonego
Shelton and Sonego are facing each other at a third consecutive major in 2025. Both of the previous meetings went the way of Shelton, who prevailed in a fourth-set tiebreaker at the Australian Open and in five sets at Roland Garros. The American now leads the head-to-head series 3-1, having also scored a 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5 victory at the 2022 Cincinnati Masters before Sonego got the job done in four sets at the 2023 French Open.
For a while–a full five hours, in fact–it looked like this matchup would be Shelton vs. Brandon Nakashima. Instead, the Italian battle back from a set down and from a break down in the fifth to outlast Nakashima 6-7(5), 7-6(8), 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(10-3) in five hours and four minutes. Sonego preceded that effort by defeating Jaime Faria (straight sets) and Nikoloz Basilashvili (four). Shelton encountered zero roadblocks while securing his place in week two, as he coasted past Alex Bolt, Rinky Hijikata, and Marton Fucsovics all in straight sets. The world No. 10 was one of just three men to get through the first week without losing a single set. This should be another fun one between two, but Shelton has the intangible edge based on H2H success and the physical advantage with Sonego just endured a five-hour struggle.
Pick: Shelton in 5
(7) Mirra Andreeva vs. (10) Emma Navarro
Navarro is rolling along nicely at the All-England Club, just as she was last year before losing to eventual runner-up Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals. The American is one win away from making a return trip to the last eight after ending the title defense of Barbora Krejcikova in a three-setter on Saturday.
Has Andreeva full recovered from a shocking French Open quarterfinal loss to Lois Boisson? The jury is still out on that question, as the 18-year-old Russian lost early at each of her two grass-court warmup events. Her three wins during the first week were not overly impressive, so it remains to be seen what she will bring to the table with a stout opponent in Navarro on the other side of the net. It wouldn’t be much of an upset if the world No. 10 wins…but it would be a small one. And it’s one that might happen.
Pick: Navarro in 3
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.