Wimbledon Men’s Quarter-Finals Preview

The usual suspects are present for the men’s singles quarter-finals at Wimbledon with four of the last eight in 2024 back for another shot at the title. Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz remains the man to beat in the bottom half of the draw as he prepares to face former SW19 semi-finalist Cameron Norrie. 

The winner of that Centre Court clash will take on either world number five Taylor Fritz or 17th seed Karen Khachanov, who meet for the third time as professionals on Tuesday. The Russian has won both of their previous encounters, but the big-serving American is looking for his third grass-court title of the summer after wins in Stuttgart and Eastbourne. Wednesday’s slate features seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic as he goes up against Italian clay-courter Flavio Cobolli.

Quarter-final schedule

• Tuesday: Taylor Fritz v Karen Khachanov & Cameron Norrie v Carlos Alcaraz
• Wednesday: Flavio Cobolli v Novak Djokovic & B Shelton or L Sonego v J Sinner or G Dimitrov

Tip 1: Over 21.5 Taylor Fritz aces @ 5/6 with Bet365

Taylor Fritz’s grass-court prowess has only improved in recent years, allowing him to close out matches swiftly on turf.  Last year at Wimbledon, he fired 78 aces before falling to Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals – averaging roughly four aces per set. This season, Fritz has already eclipsed that pace, averaging 5.33 aces per set.

Karen Khachanov, meanwhile, has yet to face a true power server at this year’s Championships. Notably, he lost to Gabriel Diallo, who aced him 19 times in just two sets, on grass in June. If Khachanov’s experience extends this contest, Fritz’s ace count could soar. With 29 and 27 aces in his first two rounds, the US star looks well-placed to clear the 22-ace mark against Khachanov.

Tip 2: Taylor Fritz to win 3-1 @ 11/4 with BoyleSports

Fritz is fresher and has greater firepower on first serve than Khachanov, which should ultimately see him reach his first Wimbledon semi. But it would be wrong to completely rule out the Russian, who has previously reached the semi-finals at the Australian and US Opens. 

The 29-year-old looks relaxed in practice and when facing the media, yet remains fiercely competitive on court, as he showed when battling back from 2-1 down in sets against Shintaro Mochizuki and Nuno Borges in rounds two and three. Fritz relies on a booming serve and aggressive baseline play, but errors will creep into his game over the course of a longer match and that should enable Khachanov to take an opportunity to close out a set for himself.

Tip 3: Cameron Norrie to beat Carlos Alcaraz @ 12/1 with Sky Bet and Paddy Power

After back-to-back Wimbledon titles, Alcaraz will be looking to record his 19th consecutive win at SW19 when he takes on Norrie. The Spaniard has won 22 consecutive matches this summer after tournament wins in Rome, Paris and London prior to starting his bid for a third Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy. But all unbeaten runs come to an end somewhere and it is not as if Alcaraz has been completely dominant throughout all four rounds to date. He was pegged back twice by 38-year-old Fabio Fognini, who had lost six straight matches before Wimbledon, in round one before pulling through 6-1 in the fifth set.

Jan-Lennard Struff took his customary set off the Spaniard in round two and Alcaraz lost an opening set tie-break to Andrey Rublev in round three. Norrie will be encouraged by all that, and the fact that he has played some of the best grass tennis of his career this fortnight. The British number three has beaten Alcaraz twice before, winning two of their last three meetings, and looks a lively outside bet to harness home advantage into a major upset.