Wimbledon third round preview and predictions, featuring Felix Auger-Aliassime and Joao Fonseca
This 2026 Wimbledon tournament has not been a particularly successful one for the Canadian contingent, but you can almost always rely on Felix Auger-Aliassime to fly the flag for his country. Auger-Aliassime is doing it again this fortnight, safely through to the third round heading into Friday’s schedule of play.
Others who have advanced on the men’s side are Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Joao Fonseca. In the women’s draw, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff are safely into the last 32.
The players who won on Wednesday will be back in action for the third round on Friday. Let’s break down the tennis odds for some of the Wimbledon third-round matchups and discuss the best bets to make.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Michael Zheng best bet: Over 0.5 tiebreakers (-150)
Grass-court tennis produces more tiebreakers – by far – than any other surface given that it offers favourable conditions for serving. Breaks are simply hard to come by, sometimes even for the best returners in the sport. That means sets often have to be decided by tiebreakers.
Friday’s showdown between Auger-Aliassime and Zheng should be no exception. Auger-Aliassime played one tiebreaker against Dino Prizmic on Wednesday and was two points from being pushed to another before finishing off the third set 7-5. Zheng played a whopping five tiebreakers in his first two rounds of the tournament. The 22-year-old American is in outstanding form at the moment, so he should be able to make this match at least somewhat competitive even though Auger-Aliassime is a heavy favourite.
Wimbledon third round – Joao Fonseca vs. Roman Safiullin best bet: Fonseca -1.5 sets (-135)
Nobody in the entire Wimbledon field endured a more difficult first two rounds than Roman Safiullin. The 132nd-ranked Russian needed a fifth-set tiebreaker on both occasions, outlasting Andrey Rublev and Botic van de Zandschulp in the same fashion. It was impressive of Safiullin to battle through, but so much tennis in a short amount of time is probably not ideal heading into round three – especially not for someone who has an extensive history of injury issues.
Joao Fonseca is more than capable of taking advantage. The 19-year-old Brazilian is not experienced on grass, but early returns are encouraging after he thrashed both former Wimbledon semifinalist Roberto Bautista Agut and recent French Open fourth-round entrant Jesper de Jong in straight sets earlier this week. It’s clear that Fonseca loves the big stage of a Grand Slam, as he stunned Novak Djokovic in five sets on his way to the French Open quarterfinals last month.
Wimbledon third round – Iva Jovic vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova best bet: Jovic ML (-163)
Iva Jovic is one of the top rising stars on the ATP Tour. At just 18 years old, the American is already up to No. 16 in the world. Results in 2026 include a quarterfinal run at the first Grand Slam – the Australian Open – and a recent semifinal showing on the grass courts of Queen’s Club. Jovic has not dropped a set through two rounds at the All-England Club and is coming off a 6-1, 6-2 rout of an in-form and accomplished grass-court player in Tatjana Maria.
It has been a much different story this year for Ekaterina Alexandrova. The 31-year-old Russian’s 2026 record stands at a dreadful 11-16 and her last four losses have all come in straight sets. These women previously faced each other at the 2024 U.S. Open, where Alexandrova just barely prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 – and that was when Jovic was only 16 years old. The teenager should be able to turn the tide two years later, perhaps even in comfortable fashion.
